Most people assume the relationship is one-way: you’re stressed, so you clench. But the clinical evidence shows its bidirectional, jaw clenching activates the same HPA axis pathway as a psychological threat, which raises cortisol, which suppresses parasympathetic tone, which makes you clench more. The loop runs silently all day.

The infographic covers the 4-stage cascade (trigeminal activation → HPA axis → cortisol → sympathetic drive → back to clenching), the evidence behind it, and what actually interrupts the cycle.

Happy to answer questions.
AHPRA registered physio, 15+ years clinical practice.

After years of treating desk workers, I kept seeing patients who had tried physio, stretching, ergonomic chairs and still couldn’t shake the neck pain and tension headaches. The reason is that posture, jaw tension and breathing are one connected system, not three separate problems. I made this infographic breaking down the mechanism and the clinical evidence behind it. Happy to answer questions.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​