What causes Temporomandibular Joint Disorder?

There are usually a variety of contributing factors that lead someone to experience TMD. Some include clenching/grinding, excessive gum chewing/biting nails, neck injuries, stress and physical trauma.

Our Approach

Here at Thrive Health Group, we look at you as a whole person, not just a body part. We want to find what is contributing to your pain that extends beyond your muscles, tendons and nerves. In TMD, not only do physical restrictions (eg. jaw stiffness) contribute to your pain, factors such as poor sleep, stress and nutrient deficiencies can play a huge role in how severe your symptoms can become. This is why we approach all conditions with a holistic framework and work closely with the dentists to ensure you a receiving optimal care. We may also refer onto other health professionals should we feel that it is necessary.

As part of the physiotherapy assessment, we will ask you a variety of questions to determine what aspects we need to address. We will then perform a physical assessment which typically involves looking at the movement of your jaw, neck and shoulder and feeling the muscles and joints both inside and outside your mouth. Once we have gathered all the information we need, we will let you know our findings, diagnosis and possible treatment options which typically involve a combination of exercise, manual treatments and education.

Expertise in TMJ (Jaw Pain) Management

Our Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist Ann has been managing TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) conditions since 2011. Ann has done extensive training including participating in in-person training with world-renowned Professor Mariano Rocabado in Spain, completing a course via correspondence through the University of St Augustine (Florida), multiple face to face courses in Melbourne and completing her postgraduate Masters in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. Ann has also completed additional training in the field of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and is now a qualified Orofacial Myologist, which equips her with a further skillset to assess for further orofacial dysfunctions that contribute to TMD symptoms. She is a current guest member of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Orofacial Pain and has attended several of their conferences. She has seen a variety of different presentations include post-trauma, post-operative, chronic jaw pain, ear pain, chronic clenching/grinding and many more.

Ann has been asked to perform numerous training sessions to physiotherapists on how to manage TMJ conditions to several health services including: Alfred Health, Western Health and IPC Health.

Check out our TMJ blog for updated info on TMJ Management