Chiropractors CAN treat TMJ. It is their belief that the cause maybe from spinal misalignment. This means back or neck problems related to posture.

The chiropractor will work the inside and outside of the mouth via massage, as well as, adjust the joint. This will relax the muscles by reducing the stress. The jaw will reposition, clicking and locking will diminish in the end.

What is TMJ?

According to Wikipedia, Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD or TMD), or TMJ syndrome, is an umbrella term covering acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the mandible to the skull. The disorder and resultant dysfunction can result in significant pain and impairment. Because the disorder transcends the boundaries between several health-care disciplines — in particular, dentistry, neurology, physical therapy, and psychology — there are a variety of treatment approaches.

Common Cause of TMJ

The jaw is in constant use allowing us to chew, yawn and even swallow, so there is quite a bit of wear on the tissues. One of the most common causes of TMJ is the misplacement of the articular disk or when the surrounding muscles become inflamed. Some of the symptoms one might experience are limited range of motion, noises such as grinding, clicking and crunching, headaches, earaches and muffled hearing. The grinding noise can be due to bone on bone in the joint. If one is experiencing these noises it is important to see a chiropractor.

Additional causes of TMJ

There are different causes of TMJ: whiplash, stress can result in grinding of the teeth, which causes pain and puts strain on the muscles. If you choose to see a chiropractor he will do a full examination. The treatment may consist of massaging the outer and inner muscles of the mouth, stress relieving exercises and trigger point therapy. Trigger points are knots found in the muscles which cause pain. The chiropractor will manipulate the trigger points to alleviate the pain. Tmj is also caused by neck and upper back misalignment. The chiropractor may choose to perform adjustments of these areas which will lead to decreased stress on the jaw so that other treatments can be more effective.