Part of treating TMD is not only education on pain science, stressors, and the manual therapies/exercises, but avoiding the triggers. We use our mouth/facial muscles much more than you think throughout the day and minimizing triggers is a good way to desensitize this area.
Here are 5 TMJ Triggers to Avoid when in the beginning and middle phases of rehab
1) Thinker pose
- just look at the cover pic for this post
- it's such a common pose, and often done unilaterally
- the TMJ is not typically a WB joint and this can further irritate an already sensitized joint
- it can also cause subluxation of intra-articular discs, and the repeatedly clicking can also irritate the joint
- solution: avoid it or use fingers on the forehead and zygomatic arch to have a similar pensive pose, but not directly load the TMJ
2) Unilateral Chewing
- out of habit many people chew on one side more than the other
- this could either cause ipsilateral irritation or contralateral due to the tilting effect unilateral chewing has on the opposite side - may be moving the involved side too much
- solution: evenly distribute food on both sides, or chew on the side that does not irritate you
3) Hard/Chewy Foods
- this is an important early phase - no chew for very sensitized TMJs progressing to soft chew
- the graded exposure to normal meals starting with 1 a day
- use an analogy of acutely sprained ankle, in needing to avoid WB for a week or so to allow for healing/desensitization
- solution: avoid hard/chewy, raw foods, make lots of healthy smoothies, give the joints time to calm down
- another common habit, I once had a patient who couldn't figure out what set back his progress about once a week - he finally figured out it was talking to his friend long distance once a week with his head tilted to the same side
- tilting head to the left causes TMJ compression to the left and distraction on the right, either side being potentially sensitized if after prolonged periods
- solution: use a bluetooth or wired headset, switch sides periodically for long conversations, use speakerphone and while you're at it, walk around for the entire phone call
5) Nail/pen biting
- again, another habit that patients don't realize is further irritating the sensitized TMJ
- it's just another trigger that adds up throughout the day when combined with some or all of the above
- solution: mindfulness to stop the "addiction" of nail/pen biting, place pens/pencils out of reach, necessitating to get up to when you have to finally use one
Want to learn in person? Attend a #manualtherapyparty! Check out our course calendar below!
Learn more online!
Want an approach that enhances your existing evaluation and treatment? No commercial model gives you THE answer. You need an approach that blends the modern with the old school. Live cases, webinars, lectures, Q&A, hundreds of techniques and more! Check out Modern Manual Therapy!
Keeping it Eclectic...
Post a Comment
Post a Comment