Most Temporomandibular (TMJ) disorder patients present with more than one symptom. Some of the more common symptoms are headaches, clicking popping, neck and shoulder pain, ear congestion, and facial pain. Many articles and research studies have been conducted studying the various TMJ problems and how it affects these patients. What seems to be lacking is treatment not looking at the whole picture, by this I mean the whole body. Posture is a critical component of this picture. We have treated many patients who have poor posture due to their TMJ problems. TMJ pain and/TMJ disorders can cause forward head posture . Not only this, many of these same patients will also exhibit shoulder drop. There are other factors such as having functional or true short leg that will also add to the complexity of TMJ treatment. When we treat Houston TMJ patients, the examination also includes a postural analysis. Additionally, the computers (neuromuscular dentistry) we use to gather information about each patients TMJ problems allow us to assess how much of the problem includes the postural components. When there is a postural component, we often work closely with a physical therapist so that we can help treat the “whole patient”, allowing these patients to have more stalile long term results and comfort. If you have any questions about Houston neuromuscular dentistry or Houston TMJ treatment, please feel free to call our office as we welcome the opporunity to assist you. Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF, 713-668-2289.
