05 Jul Advice You Can’t Afford to Miss if You Suffer with TMD

Whether you call it TMJ or TMD (hint: it’s actually TMD), if your temporomandibular joint is giving you fits, we have some advice that can get you feeling better. Let’s start out with the proper term: TMD. TMJ is the actual body part – your temporomandibular joint. TMD is temporomandibular joint disorder. If you’re complaining about TMJ, you may actually be referring to TMD.

What is TMD?

Your TMJ is the joint that connects your jaw to your skull – and the reason you can talk, yawn, chew (so it’s pretty important). When you have TMD, that actually indicates problems with your jaw and the muscles controlling it.

Stressed Out? It Could Cause TMD…

While the medical community isn’t certain what causes TMD in every case, they do believe it is caused by factors like:

Injury/trauma

Muscle tightness/imbalance

Poor posture

Tooth grinding or jaw clenching during sleep

Stress which causes jaw clenching

Arthritis in the joint

Symptoms of TMD

If you have TMD, you may experience symptoms like:

Clicking, popping, or locking of your jaw

Pain or discomfort in the jaw or face, neck and shoulders, or near the ear (especially when opening your mouth wide, chewing, etc)

Problems opening your mouth wide

Facial swelling

Your jaw becoming stuck either open or closed

Your face feeling fatigued

Headaches

…and more

Treatment

While you may have heard of dental guards for TMD, did you know that a physical therapist can also treat TMD? Physical therapists are experts in the musculoskeletal system, and TMD falls right into their lane. Your physical therapist will assess your condition and develop a custom treatment plan based on your unique needs. S/he will likely utilize a blend of “hands on” manual therapy and at-home exercises you’ll do to help improve your TMD. Restoring proper movement, reducing discomfort, and educating clients on how to avoid future issues is what makes physical therapy ideal for so many different conditions.

If you’re dealing with TMD or other movement or mobility issues, Body One Physical Therapy is here to help. With three locations serving Central Indiana, you can find the location that works best for you: North Indianapolis, Fishers, and Zionsville. We’re locally-owned and operated and see clients of all ages and activity levels. Don’t stress yourself into worse TMD, call Body One today!