What does physical therapy have to do with the jaw?

The title of this post is a question I usually get in social situations whenever I tell people about my job. Physical therapy is usually associated with "torturing" post-surgical patients (apparently this is how the patients see it!), treating patients for back pain following car accidents, or providing massage therapy and ultrasound for painful muscles and joints. Since most people don't consider the jaw to be a "joint" like the shoulder, knee or elbow, this is a frequently overlooked area of rehab.

I am lucky enough to have discovered group of health care providers who value my contribution to the overall care of patients with TMD. Whereas TMJ specialists introduce the concepts of recognizing muscle tension, avoiding chronic behaviors that stress and strain the jaw joint, and stretching/strengthening the jaw, it is my job to teach patients HOW to do some of these things. Since TMD is frequently a contributor to headache and neck pain complaints, I also provide rehab for these areas of management. I find that the team approach is vital to improving patient outcomes, especially for an area with so many contributing factors to pain.

I am flattered to have been invited to contribute to this blog - I will try to contribute interesting tidbits and information to increase the available information about this condition!

Invited guest writers - The Team..

Talking about managing chronic pain is always incomplete without discussions on the need for multidisciplinary team intervention to treat pain. To reinforce this idea and to add in their thoughts about this field,  I have invited some wonderful health care professionals, I work with, to contribute to this blog. I look forward to engaging comments and discussions on the upcoming posts.