South Milwaukee TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) Experts

If you’ve ever had a ringing sound in your ears, you could be among the 50 million Americans who suffer from some degree of tinnitus. Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom associated with hearing loss or other related health problems. One of those other problems can be TMJ or tempromandibular joint disorder. The tempromandibular joint is the joint that moves with opening and closing of your mouth and is located near your ear. The pain associated with TMJ is thought to be caused by displacement of the cartilage where the lower jaw connects to the skull causing pressure and stretching of the associated sensory nerves. It can be associated with headaches, facial pain, clicking with chewing or opening of your mouth and/or neck pain.

It's important to note that the source of pain brought on by TMJ is usually not the jaw. The source is ususlly another part of the body that is pulling on the jaw and pulling it out of alignment. TMJ is caused by a direct trauma or can be bought on by combinations of poor posture, misaligned teeth, and clenching. Tight muscles, body alignment, and overuse injuries are all common contributing factors to TMJ disorder. If left untreated, this could lead to a difficulty or inability to open your mouth and can cause osteoarthritis in the tempromandibular joint. This could cause severe pain and dysfunction in the area along with difficulty eating.

One form of treatment for TMJ disorder includes physical therapy with or without dental procedures. The dental procedures can be as simple as receiving a night guard to reduce the tension caused by clenching or a prolonged splint to change the bite. Physical therapy works on decreasing the muscular tension in the facial and cervical regions as well as education on proper posture, relaxation and exercises to maintain proper posture. These changes will reduce the microtraumas occurring to the joint and relax the muscular tension. This in turn will reduce the pain, dysfunction and possibly ringing in the ears. At M and M Physical Therapy, we consider body ergonomics, lifestyle habits, work conditions, and tension points in your body to create a plan for treaing your TMJ pain and eliminating the sources of the disorder.

If you are suffering from TMJ disorder and need help with treating and managing this painful and debilitating effects, M and M Physical Therapy can help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with us in South Milwaukee to get started on the road to recovery.