Are you someone who routinely suffers from jaw pain? One of the most common causes of jaw or TMJ dysfunction that we see in the clinic results from people clenching their teeth at various times throughout the day, as well as when asleep at night! Why is this? Clenching generally occurs when an individual is under an extra amount of stress during the daily lives. This can range from feeling frustrated at work, to trying to load your squat up too much at the gym. Whatever the cause, we are sure that you have been guilty of it at some

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome is a disorder of the jaw muscles and nerves caused by injury or inflammation to the temporomandibular joint.  The temporomandibular joint is what connects your skull to your jaw. Lots of the structures (muscles, vessels and nerves) that go to your head and face, are the same that the ones which go to your neck. Hence, any injury or disorder in those structures can cause referred pain to your Temporomandibular joint.  There are several risk factors for TMD:  -Poor posture in the neck and upper back muscles may lead to neck strain and abnormalities of jaw

Have you had imaging of your spine? Remember a lot of findings, although sounding scary are actually normal! The natural ageing process causes changes of EVERY structure of the human body. Just like wrinkles are normal of ageing skin, changes to the intervertebral discs, facet joints and vertebral bodies are normal of an ageing spine. The important thing to remember is, do the MRI findings specifically relate to your pain. The vast majority of people, even if they do not have back pain will still have evidence of changes on MRI. In fact, a recent study on the prevalence of

So now’s the time to speak about the joint that helps us speak! The temperomandibular joint is medically known as the TMJ however commonly referred to as the ‘Jaw’. A surprising number of people suffer from temperomandibular disorders (TMD), however very few people seek treatment. It has been speculated that one of the reasons why people experiencing TMD don’t seek treatment is simply for the reason, they don’t know who to seek help from! Being the ‘jaw’ region, a number of people will seek help from dentists and doctors however very few people actually seek help from physiotherapists which is surprising as being musculoskeletal experts we

When Wellness Embodied founder Suzanne Rath was hit by a car when cycling in Sydney over three years ago, she never imagined it would eventually lead to her starting a new life and business in Cairns… The physiotherapist and Pilates instructor was working three jobs in Sydney and training for the upcoming Boston Marathon, however multiple fractures in her jaw saw her sidelined from work and training for several months, with pain and anxiety which lasted for far longer. “I was getting constant headaches. I’d go to doctors, for physiotherapy. I did (and still do) lots of medical acupuncture on

Pain in your back teeth? Clicking jaw? Face pain? Headaches? Teeth clenching? All of these can be signs and symptoms of TMJ (temporomandibular joint, or your jaw, in plain English!) dysfunction! Back in 2013 I was involved in an accident where I was hit by a car when cycling and shattered one side of my face, leaving me with a nice level of clicking on the left side of my jaw and face pain/ headaches. So, not only can I assess and treat your jaw issues as a physio, but I can totally empathise with your pain! I manage my