Body positioning and muscle balance:

 Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJD) is a multi-factoral condition consisting of some or all of these components:  Joint subluxations, body positioning, muscle imbalance, neurologic interference, nutritional considerations, occlusion, and psychosocial/psychosomatic characteristics.

Let's take body positioning and muscle balance into consideration on this post.

Where ever the head is in space, the jaw follows, hanging from the skull by gravity and muscle tension.
 

Research unequivically shows that precise and complex balance of the head and neck muscles must exist to maintain proper head and TMJ position. To understand the effects the muscles have on each other and their bony attachments, know that there are many, many pairs of muscles that are work together from the head/cranium, neck, and shoulder girdle in stabilizing or moving the TMjoints. These muscle attachments on the bones are cranio-mandibular, cranio-vertebral, mandibulo-hyoid, and hyoclavicular-thorasic. This is a highly coordinated, complex neuro-muscular event to synchronize the muscular-pulley type system of stabilization and movement of cranium and jaw.

Each of the major muscles acts like an elastic band. The tension provided must precisely contribute to the balance that maintains the desired head position. If one elastic band stretches, breaks, or is permanantly contracted by scar tissue, the balance of the entire system is disrupted and the head position is altered. When one is compromised, another can compensate, causing abnormal movement patterns. To fully assess the cause of the TMJ dysfunction, all associated structures must be evaluated, above and below the jaw.

The correlation between primary TMJD and the cervical spine dysfunction is well documented in the research. And therefore, the neck/cervical spine must be addressed in evaluation and treatment protocols of TMJD.

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