Jaw Pain & TMJ can be awful trouble for the sufferer. But what if we told you that despite all of the different reasons that may result in this pain, everyone’s jaw has the same mechanical design. This means there are some very teachable & known movements that are missing in your mouth opening movements. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is unfortunately very common and people end up resorting to splints and other devices just to try and relieve some of the symptoms. But what if we could do better? What if there were ways to retrain your TMJ function so that you once again regain balanced use of your 2 temporomandibular joints. That is certainly our plan!
We’ve seen it so many times, the old side-to-side movements, massage your cheeks, blowing out your lips to relax the mouth. They are not terrible exercises but we think there’s better.
WHY? Although there are many ways we can move a joint, including the jaw, some ways or patterns are awful…no really they are. When you watch how a client moves their jaw, it can be cringe provoking when you can see how awkward the movement pattern is for the muscle tissue and the bony interaction.
Take note of the word “pattern”. A pattern is something that is learned. You’ve learned to move this way. It’s not the only way, it’s your current way.
The wonderful news is you can learn a new pattern that comes from our understanding of the cleanest jaw pattern when you open and close. That’s our knowledge. Then it takes the right cuing of our words to connect you to your jaw movement. That’s our skill.
It’s a bit of a funny question really but here goes. The jaw is so incredibly important and unavoidable in use as it’s need for eating, drinking, talking, sometimes breathing as well as speaking. We use it ALL the time so when it’s not right it’s quite the dilemma.
Did you know that each time you move your head, your jaw is designed to respond with it’s own movement. The movements are different whether you tilt to one side, or turn your face either way. This pattern is really simple but lesser known in therapy-world. Our observations of the asymmetrical position of your jaw, how you naturally hold your head and shoulder will be considered in your assessment. It’s all about balancing out the movement.
Yes our approach is more than just the jaw bone. In our opinion, the jaw should not be treated in isolation.
Our skill-set is viewing your jaw in the bigger picture of your skull and spinal posture. We have very clear ideas of how to find the fluency to literally opening your mouth well. It’s not about massaging away inside your mouth either. We want to find the way to open your mouth so that the muscles on the inside of your mouth get to stretch themselves out in a natural way. Flowing jaw mechanics creates balanced muscle tissues in your mouth and neck simply because you opened your mouth well.
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