TMJ Chiropractic Treatment Greenville

TMJ Chiropractic Treatment Greenville

If you're living with jaw tension, facial pain, or a persistent clicking sound every time you chew or yawn — you may already know the frustration of TMJ dysfunction. But here’s the truth: your jaw isn’t broken, it’s just out of sync. And most treatments don’t go deep enough to solve the real issue.

At Mountain Movement Chiropractic & Natural Health, we offer a different kind of TMJ treatment — one that’s rooted in function, fascia, and neurology, not just “cracking” or masking the pain with medication. If you’ve tried night guards, painkillers, or traditional adjustments with little to no relief, you’re not alone — and you’re not out of options.

What Is TMJ Dysfunction?

Your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is one of the most used — and most misunderstood — joints in the body. This small hinge, located on either side of your face just in front of your ears, connects your jawbone to your skull and allows you to talk, chew, yawn, and express yourself every day.

The TMJ is a complex joint system made up of bones, cartilage, discs, muscles, and ligaments. It’s designed to handle both hinge-like and sliding movements — something no other joint in your body does.

Because of that complexity, the TMJ is vulnerable to misalignment, muscle imbalance, and overuse. When these structures stop working in harmony, you develop TMJ dysfunction, also called TMD.

Common Symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction

You don’t need to have “jaw pain” to have a TMJ problem. Often, TMJ issues show up in other areas of your face, head, and neck — making them easy to miss or misdiagnose.

Here are some of the most common signs of TMJ dysfunction:

• Jaw clicking or popping when chewing, talking, or yawning
• Headaches (especially around the temples or behind the eyes)
• Earaches or ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• Facial pain, pressure, or sensitivity
• Locking jaw (can’t fully open or close the mouth)
• Neck and shoulder tension or stiffness
• Clenching or grinding teeth (often noticed in the morning or during stressful times)
• Fatigue or brain fog from chronic muscle guarding

These symptoms can be mild at first — but over time, they can disrupt your sleep, your concentration, and even your digestion and breathing.

What Causes TMJ Dysfunction?

TMJ dysfunction is rarely caused by just one factor. It’s often the result of a complex web of imbalances in the muscular, structural, and nervous systems.

Here are some of the most common root causes we see:

Nervous System Overdrive

When your body is stuck in a fight-or-flight state, your jaw tends to clench automatically. Chronic stress can lock your jaw into a tension pattern that becomes habitual.

Muscle Imbalance

Overuse of jaw muscles like the masseter and temporalis (from chewing, clenching, or bracing) can create tightness on one side and weakness on the other — leading to joint stress and misalignment.

Postural Distortion

Your head and neck posture directly affect the way your jaw moves. A forward head position (common with desk jobs and phone use) can strain your TMJ, altering its mechanics.

Fascia Restrictions

The fascia — your body’s connective tissue web — stores tension and trauma. Restrictions in the neck, shoulders, or even pelvis can pull on the jaw and create asymmetry in motion.

Stress & Nighttime Clenching (Bruxism)

Many people unconsciously grind or clench their teeth during sleep or high-stress situations, putting immense pressure on the TMJ and surrounding tissues.

Our Proven TMJ Treatment Techniques

Functional Chiropractic Adjustments

The temporomandibular joint is part of a larger network that includes the cervical spine, cranial bones, and upper thoracic region. Misalignments or restricted motion in any of these areas can interfere with how your jaw tracks, opens, and closes.

At Mountain Movement, our chiropractic adjustments are gentle, precise, and functional — not forceful or generic. We focus on the neuro-mechanical relationship between your jaw and spine, providing corrections that help the entire system reset and relax.

What this looks like in practice:

• Cervical Spine Adjustments to improve upper neck mobility, posture, and nerve flow
• TMJ Mobilizations to restore proper disc tracking and relieve joint compression
• Cranial Work to relieve pressure patterns in the skull and jaw interface, especially beneficial for those with headaches, tension, or past trauma

Myofascial Release & Trigger Point Therapy

Jaw pain almost always involves tight, overworked muscles. Years of clenching, stress, dental work, or poor posture lead to chronic tension in key muscles that surround and support the TMJ. Even if you don’t consciously clench, your nervous system may be firing signals that keep your muscles in a constant state of contraction.

This is where myofascial therapy and trigger point release come in. These techniques target the exact muscle groups that hold tension and release them at the source. We also address the fascial lines that connect your jaw to your neck, shoulders, and even down your spine — because pain doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

Muscles We Focus On:

• Masseter — the strongest muscle in the jaw, and often the most overactive in TMJ cases
• Temporalis — contributes to jaw clenching, temple headaches, and facial tightness
• SCM (Sternocleidomastoid) — neck muscle that affects jaw positioning, posture, and dizziness
• Suboccipitals — tiny muscles at the base of the skull that influence jaw motion and neural tension

Neuro Reset Therapy

Chronic jaw tension isn’t just about tight muscles — it’s about faulty communication between your brain and body. When your nervous system gets stuck in a fight-or-flight loop, muscles in the jaw, neck, and face can remain overactive, even when you’re trying to relax. Meanwhile, the stabilizing muscles meant to support those joints often go offline.

This is where Neuro Reset Therapy comes into play.

Neuro Reset techniques are designed to reboot the sensory and motor pathways that govern jaw movement. We identify which muscles are overfiring, which are underperforming, and which patterns need to be cleared out of the system.

Here’s how it helps TMJ patients:

• Re-establishes proper muscle recruitment so your jaw opens and closes without clicking, deviation, or strain
• Calms overstimulated nerves, which decreases tension and sensitivity in the jaw, face, and head
• Improves proprioception, or the awareness of jaw position, which is essential for long-term relief
• Interrupts pain cycles caused by clenching, guarding, and neurological feedback loops

Functional Laser Therapy (Cold Laser)

Many cases of TMJ dysfunction involve deep joint inflammation, particularly in the articular disc or the capsule surrounding the joint. This inflammation often goes unaddressed by traditional approaches, leading to prolonged pain and poor outcomes.

Our Cold Laser Therapy, also known as Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), is an advanced, drug-free solution that works on a cellular level to:

• Reduce inflammation and swelling inside the TMJ capsule
• Stimulate mitochondrial activity for faster tissue repair and collagen regeneration
• Increase circulation and lymphatic drainage around the jaw, neck, and face
• Accelerate recovery from clenching-related microtrauma or structural imbalance

We use a Multi Radiance super-pulsed laser system, which delivers targeted energy deep into tissues without heat, pain, or side effects. Patients typically feel nothing during the treatment, but experience significant relief in the hours and days that follow.

Laser therapy is especially beneficial for:

• Chronic or inflamed TMJ joints
• Post-trauma recovery (e.g., car accidents, dental procedures)
• Severe clenching-related tissue breakdown
• Long-term dysfunction that hasn’t responded to other modalities

Posture & Movement Instruction

Relief doesn’t end when you leave our office — and neither does your care. One of the key differences in our TMJ program is that we equip you with the tools to support your healing outside the treatment room.

Many TMJ dysfunction patterns are driven by poor posture and unconscious movement habits, especially forward head posture — a common result of phone use, computer work, and stress. This posture pulls the jaw into a compromised position and strains the neck, shoulders, and breathing mechanics.

As part of your care plan, we provide:

• Postural retraining strategies that re-center your head and neck alignment
• At-home jaw tension release techniques to stop clenching patterns before they start
• Breathwork and relaxation tools that downshift the nervous system and reduce facial muscle tension
• Simple movement cues you can integrate into daily life — at your desk, in your car, and while sleeping

Ready to Move Mountains in Your Jaw Health?

Whether you've been clenching your jaw for years, dealing with daily headaches, or you’re just now starting to connect the dots between your posture, stress, and jaw pain — you don’t have to figure this out alone.

At Mountain Movement Chiropractic & Natural Health, we take TMJ dysfunction seriously. Through our integrative approach — combining chiropractic care, myofascial therapy, neuro reset, cold laser, and personalized movement instruction — we don’t just aim for short-term relief. We help you restore balance, function, and freedom for the long term.

We’ve helped hundreds of patients across the Upstate regain control of their health by addressing TMJ pain at its root. And we’re ready to help you do the same.

Contact Us Today to Begin Your Healing

Mountain Movement Chiropractic & Natural Health
📍 1901 Laurens Road Suite E.
Greenville, SC 29607

📞 (864) 448-2073 🌐 Book Now | Ask a Question