What are “Trigger Points”? Trigger points, also known as trigger sites or muscle knots, are described as “hyper-irritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers.” (1) Integrated Physical Medicine’s chiropractors and acupuncturists, Dr. Eric Mitz and Dr. Miachael Ray, commonly see trigger points occurring in the muscles […]
Few studies have been performed examining the efficacy of occlusal splints — the most common appliance created by dentists to address Temporomandibular Dysfunction (TMD) (aka TMJ Syndrome) — compared to therapeutic focused (temporomandibular joint) TMJ exercises. One study’s (1) results comparing these two interventions were interesting. Patients with anterior displacement of the TMJ disc were […]
A recent study[1] appearing in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation really caught my attention. The authors examined the various sexual hormones (e.g., estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) in a group of women with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). The authors discovered clinically significant progesterone deficiencies linked with TMJ syndrome. Some in-depth digging uncovered a few other studies that […]
TMJ stands for temporomandibular (TM) joint(s). TMD stands for temporomandibular disorder. Wikipedia defines TMD as “an umbrella term covering pain and dysfunction of the muscles of mastication (the muscles that move the jaw) and the temporomandibular joints (the joints which connect the mandible to the skull).” The main feature of this discussion is that the syndrome of TMJ causes pain. It is a complex condition. TMJ Syndrome may also cause restriction of […]
