Your mouth... the overlooked culprit of pain
The teeth are incredibly proprioceptive and occlusal interferences (where your teeth touch) can refer pain to the jaw, head, neck and even the lumbar spine.
In order to test this relationship tip your head back & bite down. Do your molars touch first?
Then, drop your chin to your chest and bite down again. Do your molars still touch first?
Interesting right? The difference lies in the weight variability depending upon the position of your head. Now imagine the head positions we chronically adopt; such as “tech neck”, forward head posture or “military neck”. Visualize the spinal adaptations required to accommodate these postural deviations. Then add in how many times a day you are speaking, swallowing and chewing and you begin to appreciate the affect the alignment of the mouth can have on the entire spinal structure.
The bottom line is the teeth, the mandible and the surrounding musculature are all important pieces to the integrity of the ENTIRE spine and nervous system!
Is this the key to your pain?
