Clenching and Grinding originates from an airway issues some point in life.  When we grind and clench, it activates the fight/flight response of the nervous system  to open the airway to breathe better. Our bodies learn that grinding and clenching is a stress response, therefore, it can be worse at periods of increased anxiety or stress in our lives. We grind and clench 5 times harder at night then we can during the day! This kind of severe stress can cause TMJ pain and disorder of the joint. 

Ever wake up with a headache? Do you get frequent headaches? You may be more prone to headaches if you have airway issues at night when you sleep. When our airway get obstructed at night, we grind and clench to open our jaw. This activates facial, head and neck muscles. It's like doing an intense workout and having a muscle pain or spasms. Tight muscles of the head and neck can trigger a headache or migraine. 

Ideally, our ears should line up with the side our our shoulders. Myofunctional disorders such as mouth breathing, low tongue posture, and a compromised airway lead to forward head posture.  Moving our head forward helps open the airway and breathe better. As the head comes forward, the muscles of the neck become fatigued and strained which contributes to head, neck, back,  shoulder pain and tenderness. This extra weight by having the head forward can lead to head, neck, and back pain in additional to TMJ pain. 

Myofunctional disorders such as low tongue posture, will allow our lips and cheeks to cave in our teeth. This changes the way the teeth come together and occlusion of the teeth changes. This change in tooth occlusion may lead to TMJ disc compression and displacement. If the maxilla drops from low tongue posture, the mandible grows down and back. The maxilla “traps” the mandible from coming forward and the disc inside the TMJ is compressed. Over time, this will degenerate the TMJ joint and cause issues. See video below

We are connected from the top of our head all the way down to the feet.  Fascia is a sheath of stringy connective tissue that surrounds every part of your body. It provides support to your muscles, tendons, ligaments, tissues, organs, nerves, joints and bones.  Recent research as shown that facia connects the tongue to the lungs, diaphragm, hips, knees, and feet. Tongue restriction due to fascia or a habit of low tongue posture, can change the way fascia works through the body. Compensatory habits of facial muscles that result from tongue tie and dysfunctional use of the outer muscles of the tongue put additional strain on the jaw join and muscles that open and close it. Continuous dysfunctional use of those muscles and the joint itself can lead to pain. 

Myofunctional Therapy always comes back to restoring normal function of the airway and tongue. Myofunctional Therapy helps to eliminate or reduce improper use of our facial muscle and tongue that puts strain on our TMJ joint and surrounding muscles which trigger headaches. HOW a patient does the exercise is more critical than the exercise it's self. For some patients with structural issues like a tongue tie, narrow jaws, deviated septum, etc, referral to a collaborative provider is needed.