Does Your Face Hurt?
Do you experience face or jaw pain, tightness, or restricted mouth opening? How about noises such as popping or clicking when opening or closing your mouth? Maybe you experience ear pain, dizziness, or headaches? These may be symptoms of a temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Temporomandibular disorders are a group of disorders that affect the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or chewing muscles. These disorders are more common than you may think, affecting 5-12% of the population. In fact, TMD is second only to low back pain when it comes to musculoskeletal conditions resulting in pain and disability. Despite the number of people with TMD, only 50-66% seek treatment.
4 Things to Know About Jaw Pain
Are you having pain or clicking in your jaw while yawning or laughing? Does it cause you prolonged pain to chew delicious foods such as a steak, apple, or bagel? Did your dentist offer you a retainer or splint because you grind, clench or have worn your teeth? Answering yes to these questions may indicate that you have a dysfunction going on in or around your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or more simply, issues related to opening and closing your jaw.
6 Conditions You May Not Realize Physical Therapists Treat
Every year in October, we celebrate National Physical Therapy Month. There are many individuals that have seen a physical therapist (PT) for common reasons such as low back pain or knee pain. There are many different conditions, however, that PTs may treat that you may not be aware of. In order to keep up their professional license, PTs are required to take continuing education courses. Often, these courses may give a therapist a special set of skills for treating a certain condition or diagnosis. The following is a list of conditions that many individuals may not be aware that can be treated by a PT. (more…)
