PROBLEM
Head, neck and jaw
Assessing the neck, head and jaw as a whole.
Some people come in for neck problems and end up talking about their jaw.
Or they come in for bruxism and discover that their cervical spine and suboccipital region are also completely tense.
Sometimes the head, neck and jaw begin to change all at once. When this happens, it is worth looking at the whole picture.
Headaches and neck tension
Some headaches are accompanied by neck stiffness, loss of movement or suboccipital tension.
Some headaches are linked to the cervical spine. The important thing is to check whether this pattern applies to you.
TMJ and bruxism
Jaw fatigue.
Temples.
Clenching during the day.
Pain when chewing.
Neck pain that worsens when jaw tension also increases.
Cranial osteopathy
Where the assessment warrants it, we may use gentle manual therapy on the cranial, suboccipital, cervical and mandibular regions.
It is another tool used as part of the assessment.
Each area also plays its part
Sometimes it’s simply a strained neck.
The jaw may require a dental assessment where appropriate.
Headaches may have other causes.
We check which areas are changing in tandem in your case.
The aim
So that you can understand what might be happening without having to decide in advance which structure is ‘the cause’.
The tension you build up in your jaw often ends up affecting your neck as well.
Sources and further reading
To find out more
References that expand on the points discussed.
View sources
- ICHD-3. Cervicogenic headache · View source
- ICHD-3. Headache attributed to TMD · View source
- NIDCR. Temporomandibular Disorders and Bruxism · View source