{"id":1521,"date":"2011-02-10T11:08:00","date_gmt":"2011-02-10T18:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/somatics.com\/wordpress\/common-causes-of-tmj-syndrome-bruxism\/"},"modified":"2011-02-10T11:08:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-10T18:08:00","slug":"common-causes-of-tmj-syndrome-bruxism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.somatics.com\/wordpress\/common-causes-of-tmj-syndrome-bruxism\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Causes of TMJ Syndrome\/Bruxism"},"content":{"rendered":"

TMD\/TMJ Syndrome is a collection of diverse symptoms<\/a> caused by reflexive actions of the muscles of biting and chewing. It comes from brain-muscle conditioning acquired by trauma or stress.<\/p>\n

As with all conditioning problems, it can be changed with proper training. An accelerated training process, clinical somatic education<\/a>), dramatically reduces the time needed for conventional dentistry to correct TMD by means of a technique nicknamed, “The Whole-body Yawn”. <\/p>\n

Dentists commonly regard TMD as being of different types: joint arthritis at the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ), muscular soreness (myalgia), articular disc displacement, misfit of the upper and lower jaws, or of traumatic origin.<\/p>\n

However, all of these conditions reduce down to the same cause: tight muscles of biting and chewing, and therefore the same kind of treatment can resolve them all (except for “disc displacement without reduction”, which is a surgical situation). <\/p>\n

Let’s see how. <\/p>\n

Degenerative Arthritis<\/b>
\n<\/span> Degenerative arthritis of the TMJ does not just “happen by itself”, nor does it result from outside influences, like an infection.<\/p>\n

It results from excessive compression forces upon the TMJ, imposed by chronically tight muscles of biting and chewing. The joint breaks down under pressure. <\/p>\n

Treatment must therefore retrain those muscles to a normal, low tension state, to be effective.<\/p>\n

Muscular Soreness<\/b> (Pain)<\/b>
\nChronically tight muscles develop muscle fatigue — the common “burn” that people go for in athletic training.<\/p>\n

That “burn” disappears nearly instantly, once muscles relax. For a lasting reduction of muscle tension and burn, a training process is needed. Faster and slower training processes exist. <\/b><\/p>\n

Articular Disc Displacement<\/b>
\nThe articular disc of the TMJ is a pad that rides between the lower jaw (mandible) and the underside of the cheek bone (zygomatic bone), which goes from below the eyes, in front, to just before the ears on both sides. The TMJ, itself, is located just in front of the ears, and although the TMJ is the “home” position for the lower jaw, the TMJ is a very free joint. The cheek bone acts as a kind of rail along which the lower jaw rides forward and back during jaw movements, out of and back into the temporo-mandibular joint. The articular disc pads the contact between the lower and upper contact surfaces, connected to the lower jaw by a ligament with some elasticity.<\/p>\n

When jaw muscles are chronically tight, the articular disc gets squeezed between the two surfaces, upper and lower, and may get dragged out of place by jaw movements (displacement) — a very painful condition.<\/p>\n

If the displaced position of the disc is within the rebound capacity of the attaching ligament, the disc can return to its home position (“disc displacement with reduction”), once excessive compression forces ease. If the ligament gets stretched past its rebound capacity, the disc stays out of place (“disc displacement without reduction”). <\/p>\n

Misfit of the Upper and Lower Jaws<\/b>
\nThis condition is not, in itself, a cause of TMD. However, when combined with excessive tension in the muscles of biting and chewing, the sensation of this condition gets magnified, as the sensation of “misfit”; grinding motions (bruxism) are actually a seeking for the comfort of a fit in a rest position, which is unavailable due to upper and lower jaw misfit. <\/p>\n

While something radical like surgery may seem to be a necessary option, actually what is sufficient is to bring the jaw muscles to rest. To do so increases the tolerance (i.e., comfort) of the mismatched situation to the point where it is not disturbing. <\/p>\n

Trauma<\/b>
\nThe underlying condition for the others, trauma (a blow to the lower jaw or dental work) triggers the muscles of biting to tighten (“trauma reflex”).<\/p>\n

Gum chewing is not a cause, in itself, of TMD. <\/p>\n

I say more about trauma, below.<\/p>\n

Conditioning Influences<\/b>
\nThe jaw muscles, like all the the muscles of the body, are subject to control by conditioned postural reflexes, which affect chewing and biting movements. The reason people don’t go around slack-jawed and drooling, for example, is that a conditioned postural reflex causes the muscles of biting and chewing always to remain slightly tensed, keeping their jaws closed. People’s jaw muscles are always more or less tense, even when they are asleep — but the norm is very mildly<\/i> tense — just enough to keep the mouth closed and lips together. <\/p>\n

The degree of tension people hold is a matter of conditioning. <\/p>\n

For brevity, I’ll discuss only conditions that lead to TMJ\/bruxism and not the normal development of muscle tone in the muscles of biting and chewing.
\nThese influences fall into two categories: <\/p>\n