02/26/2026
Not all TMJ disorders are the same.
Sometimes they can come all of a sudden without you noticing.
This is the story of one of my patients.
She was never aware of jaw clicking but suddenly in her mid 30s started having episodes of jaw locking.
No pain, no headaches, just locking at random moments.
Dry needling of her masseter muscles with another PT did help but it wasn't enough to stop the locking. She also didn't know why it was happening.
We did a thorough assessment and found that her TMJ was hypermobile. Providing less stability between her disc and jaw bones.
But for years her jaw muscles were doing their best to help.
One day her TMJ wasn't getting the support it needed from her muscles anymore.
Leading to a lateral/medical disc displac with reduction with interm locking.
Our goal now is to engage all the muscles around her joint (not just her masseter) to support her jaw and prevent locking.
If you have a hypermobile jaw, there are solutions and preventative options.
One tool to knowing if you are hypermobile is if you can open your mouth wider than 3 of your fingers or you can move your teeth side to side >10mm.
Do you think your jaw is hypermobile?
Let me know in the comments below!