Do you suffer from chronic pain ( chronic headaches, neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain )? Do you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning because you ache all over? Did you know that a bad jaw alignment can be responsible for chronic pain, not only to your jaw, but pain at a distance (neck, shoulders, back, hips, etc.), that you would never associate to your jaw. When you clench and grind your teeth on a bad jaw alignment, you disrupt the muscle chains (groups of muscles that control different parts of your body). These different muscle chains are all interconnected so that if one group is out of harmony, it will affect others. That is : the muscle chain controlling your jaw is connected to the muscle chain holding your head on your shoulders(neck muscles), which is connected to the muscles of your back and so forth…..so that imbalance in one chain can disrupt the muscles in other chains, and wherever the weak link is along those chains, is where the pain manifests.

When we tense up, we clench our teeth. If we have a bad jaw alignment from a bad bite, that can cause havoc in any part of the body. It is a mechanical issue. Why would you hurt in your lower back in the morning when you have been laying down all night on a nice supportive mattress? How many of you have changed mattresses, pillows etc. and still wake up in pain? It’s probably not every morning, just the ones where you have been clenching on a bad jaw alignment. A high percentage of chronic pain has a mechanical source (a short leg, bad jaw alignment, eye muscle incoordination etc.) To find out if your jaw mechanic are involved in your chronic pain, contact Dr. Rioux office For an assessment. His more than 30 years of experience dealing with TMG/TMD patient make him an expert in this field. more... See more text