Signs and Symptoms

  • Headaches (especially in the back of your head or if one-sided)
  • Morning headaches
  • Pain and/or clicking in your jaw
  • Ear pain
  • Fullness of the ear
  • Ringing of the ear
  • Upper neck pain and/or stiffness
  • Dizziness

Have you had a motor vehicle accident? If yes, you should be evaluated for TMJ.

What is TMJ?

The Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a joint in your jaw that can develop pain and movement problems. It is generally aggravated by:

  • Jaw clenching
  • Teeth grinding
  • Stress
  • Prolonged talking
  • Habitual chewing (e.g. gum, nails, pencil, necklace, etc)

What Does Physiotherapy For TMJ Involve?

  • An orthopaedic assessment of your jaw and neck
  • Muscle retraining to correct problematic jaw mechanics
  • Manual therapy/joint mobilizations
  • Ultrasound
  • Acupuncture
  • Communication with your Dentist (e.g. a night splint for your jaw may be needed)

Treatment of neck problems that may be contributing to TMJ The Digastric Muscle. Retraining of this muscle is key to successful treatment of TMJ. The digastric muscle generally becomes weak and dysfunctional with TMJ. With physiotherapy treatment, special exercises will be prescribed to reactivate digastric and help it to work properly again.