07/01/2022
What joint moves moves multiple times a day, but is not likely to get degenerative joint disease?
The answer would be the Temporomandibular joint (TMJ), also known as your jaw!
Think about it… 🧐
We use our jaw ALL day long when we talk, chew, swallow, etc. Our jaw gets a lot of reps! 😯
Do you know what moves the jaw?
Muscles!! There are muscles that even go up onto our skull that control jaw motion.
Why does the jaw not degenerate when it’s getting used so much? Hips, knees, shoulders, and spinal joints degenerate all the time and we use those just as much.
“The articular surfaces are lined with fibrous tissue rather than the usual hyaline cartilage of synovial joints. The fibrous tissue makes the temporomandibular joint less susceptible to degenerative joint disease. I’m addition, fibrous tissue has a much greater ability to repair and regenerate.”
Now, just because the jaw isn’t as likely to degenerate, doesn’t mean it cannot cause problems. So many people have dysfunction of their TMJ. Oftentimes it starts with one tooth contacting another tooth before the others when we bite down.
This is called “prematurity”.
Prematurity stimulates the periodontal ligament to send sensory signals into a reflex system which will guide the mandible by means of musculature, away from the areas of painful, premature contact.
So what does that mean? If something is even slightly off with our bite, the surrounding muscles will start working overtime to move the jaw away from the problematic area.
That then leads to muscle imbalance in the jaw, skull, and spine, and compensation starts. That we will discuss in the next post!
Homework:
1. First, open and close your mouth. Try to feel if there is tension on one side more than the other. Maybe you can’t open your mouth very wide?
2. When you bite down, see if your teeth feel aligned, or if one tooth contacts another before the rest of your teeth.
3. Spend some time in front of the mirror opening and closing your mouth. What do you see?
4. Start to pay attention to tension you may be holding in your jaw throughout the day.
On your initial exam, I evaluate the jaw and associated muscles. When the jaw is not right, this can make neck pain be chronic, among other things.
Have a healthy, happy, and safe Fourth of July everyone! 🇺🇸
-Applied Kinesiology Synopsis, David Walther
