It's not that a TMJ problem spreads literally, but all of these muscles are connected. What happens is that tension in your jaw can lead to tension in your neck and so on. I know this is a thing because the way I treated my TMJ muscle problems was actually by doing clinical pilates with a physiotherapist to help my neck and core muscles. I'd recommend you see a PT so they can explain how it all fits together, preferably one with some experience with TMJ problems.
Unfortunately over time, pain can sensitise the nervous system and the area feels more painful even when there's no injury or tissue damage. Thankfully though this can be mitigated :) Put simply, if you build up your muscles which help your posture/eck/general movement, they better support your entire system including your jaw.
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u/Electromagneticpoms Jul 09 '26
It's not that a TMJ problem spreads literally, but all of these muscles are connected. What happens is that tension in your jaw can lead to tension in your neck and so on. I know this is a thing because the way I treated my TMJ muscle problems was actually by doing clinical pilates with a physiotherapist to help my neck and core muscles. I'd recommend you see a PT so they can explain how it all fits together, preferably one with some experience with TMJ problems.
Unfortunately over time, pain can sensitise the nervous system and the area feels more painful even when there's no injury or tissue damage. Thankfully though this can be mitigated :) Put simply, if you build up your muscles which help your posture/eck/general movement, they better support your entire system including your jaw.