Hi TMD community! Hope you’ve been enjoying hints of Spring this month wherever you are. With Spring comes warmer weather, less shoulder shrugging and more Vitamin D, which equals less headaches and jaw clenching!
I hope you’ve also been enjoying these monthly newsletters. For more frequent education, follow me on Instagram @DrSamanthaTMJ. Also, I recently wrote a blog for Anchor Wellness Center, explaining the benefits of physical therapy for TMJ issues. Who doesn’t love free info?! Find it here.
TMD Tid-Bit
What are parafunctional habits?
Parafunctional habits are uses of a body part outside of its typical use. In regard to the mouth, this could include clenching, grinding, nail biting, thumb sucking, lip chewing, abnormal movements of the tongue etc.
These repetitive activities overtime cause dysfunction as the tissues of the head/neck/face are being overworked in ways they are not intended to naturally. During a TMD physical therapy exam, we ask questions about and look for signs of these habits and how they may be contributing to your overall presentation.
Although these habits can be challenging to break, the first step is awarness and education. In PT we will teach you tools to help break these habits and relearn healthier ways to position your teeth/mouth/tongue to improve the health of your tissues and reduce your TMD symptoms. One technique used to break these habits is manual therapy- changing the tone and mobility of muscles involved helps to relieve some stress/pain in the region. Think of it as a “reset” to get these tissues back to baseline, which makes it much easier to retrain new habits.
Wellness Wisdom
What’s going on with my blood sugar?
You may not know much about your blood sugar readings or already check them regularly, but there’s no doubt that Diabetes is a hot topic in our country- especially type 2 that we can develop from lifestyle habits increasing Insulin resistance.
I bring this up because having regulated blood sugars is an essential and foundational aspect to feeling good & well in general. It is key to our muscle and organ function- having consistently high blood sugars can even affect the health of our joints. There’s a a wide range of Diabetes management options based on your type and individualized factors, and for that you should have a conversation with your provider. For anyone though, we can start learning good daily habits to regulate our daily blood sugar levels and reduce our chances of developing Insulin resistance.
I bring this up because in physical therapy, although we are treating your neuromuscoloskeltal impairments, health and medicine should still take a comprehensive approach, which includes screening other body systems that are contributing to how you’re feeling overall. Our treatment goals in PT may have functional limitations if other medical factors are not being addressed and are preventing full tissue healing. I’m always happy to provide my patients with resources and recommend referrals to address these lifestyle and medical factors so that we address the full picture of health.
A great starting point is listening to the LittleBy Podcast by Kristin Oja, a functional medicine practitioner. She has a great episode on daily habits to reduce your chances of developing issues with blood sugar regulation.
Have a wonderful rest of your day my friends!
It means so much to me to have you a part of this community! Feel free to stay connected or reach out to me any or all of the following ways:
instagram: DrSamanthaTMJ
email: samantha@drsamanthatmjcom; samantha@anchorcincy.com
website: drsamanthatmj.com
Cheers to health & happiness
#DrSamanthaTMJ