What is wrong with me? CMD explained clearly
When many complaints come together and nobody can explain them, it often has a name: craniomandibular dysfunction – CMD for short. Here you can find out calmly what that means.
CMD – in one sentence
CMD is a reflex, nerve-driven misregulation in the interplay of the jaw joints, the chewing muscles and the head muscles. That sounds small – but it affects a system that is connected to the whole body.
Imagine your jaw system as a finely tuned clockwork: teeth, joints, muscles and nerves have to fit together exactly. If one part loses its rhythm – for example through a bite disorder – the rest has to compensate. This constant stress makes itself felt in the most varied places.
It is worth staying with the image of the clock for a moment. The hands show the time – but they are not the time. In the same way, your teeth show how the system is standing at the moment. They are not the problem. Behind them lies the control, and it works with nerves and reflexes, not with millimetres on a model. That is why we look at the clock first, before we say what needs to be done.
This way of seeing has a name: systems medicine. It does not see the body as a kit of separate parts that are repaired one after another, but as a system that constantly readjusts itself. CMD Systems Medicine takes the same view and puts the jaw system at the centre – because regulation can be reached there without changing anything irrevocably anywhere.
Why a small disorder causes so many complaints
Through muscles and nerves, the jaw system is closely linked to the body's entire posture – from head to toe. Problems “travel” along these connections: through the head, ear and neck down into the spine, pelvis and feet.
Headaches do not always start in the head.
Neck pain does not always start in the neck.
Tinnitus does not always start in the ear.
Dizziness does not always start in the organ of balance.
That is why we do not look at symptoms alone. We look at connections.
That is why it often does not hurt where the cause lies – and why CMD so often goes undetected.
Where CMD can make itself felt
Head & face
Migraine-like headaches, temple and facial pain, pressure on the eyes.
Ears (ENT)
Tinnitus, ear pressure, dizziness, balance disorders.
Throat & neck
Tension, restricted movement, a feeling in the throat when swallowing.
Spine
Back pain, poor posture, muscular imbalances.
Pelvis, knees & feet
Compensatory complaints across the body's entire posture.
General wellbeing
Sleep disorders, exhaustion, inner tension.
Psyche & suffering
Anxiety, low mood, exhaustion – as a consequence of constant pain and the helplessness of “nobody finds anything”.
How certain is this? The further you move away from the jaw, the more cautious you have to be – and we would rather tell you that ourselves. For the head, face and neck the professional basis is good. For the spine, pelvis and feet, and for ear complaints, the evidence is inconsistent: a causal connection has not been scientifically proven. What we write about it is our clinical experience from many years of working with people affected – and it is meant exactly that way, not as a proven fact.
Important – and often misunderstood: this is not about “psychosomatic” (that is: the psyche causes the pain). It is the other way round: a genuine physical misregulation produces, over months and years, a somatopsychic burden – a high level of suffering, pain and anxiety, because nobody finds the cause. We take both seriously and treat the body – the mind settles down along with it.
Why the cause often remains undetected for a long time
If previous treatments did not bring the hoped-for success, this is almost never due to a lack of competence on the part of your doctors, dentists or therapists. On the contrary – within their respective specialties they worked carefully and correctly.
Our healthcare system is highly specialised, and that makes sense: the ENT specialist examines the ear, the neurologist the nerves, the orthopaedist the back, the dentist the teeth. CMD, however, acts across several of these areas at the same time – and so easily slips through the net of the individual disciplines. Not out of carelessness, but because hardly anyone looks at the interplay in between as a whole.
Head
Neurological work-up, imaging – often without findings.
Throat & ears
ENT work-up for tinnitus and dizziness – frequently unremarkable.
Eyes
Eye test for pressure behind the eyes – usually without explanation. One question that often gets lost interests us here: do you wear glasses or contact lenses? Anyone who sees with an unsuitable correction unconsciously adopts a head posture – and that reaches down into the neck and jaw.
Spine
Orthopaedics and physiotherapy – this noticeably helps many people, and we are glad to work with them. If the complaints still keep coming back, it is worth looking at the jaw system.
Each of these examinations was right. What hardly anyone checks along the way is the connection to the jaw.
This is exactly where we come in – as a complement, not as competition. We take the time to measure the interplay of jaw, muscles, nerves and posture as a unit, and we are glad to work together with those who have treated you so far.
Where does CMD come from?
There is rarely one single cause – usually several things come together, often from birth and growth onwards:
- Growth disorders & faulty development of the jaw (too narrow, too little space)
- Congenital malformations & stresses around birth
- Early childhood habits: sleeping on the stomach, mouth breathing, thumb sucking, chewing on one side
- Psychological stress – even in childhood (constant stress leads to grinding & clenching)
- Accidents, falls & trauma (e.g. whiplash)
- Dental procedures (e.g. fillings or crowns that are too high)
- Orthodontic treatments – above all extracting teeth to create space
- Missing teeth or teeth that have not been replaced
- Poor posture & lifestyle (long periods of sitting, screens, “tech neck”)
- Hereditary predisposition in the shape of the jaw and face
The good news
In the vast majority of cases CMD is readily treatable – initially with gentle methods that change nothing on the teeth. The first step is recognising it at all.
Could this apply to you?
The self-test gives you a first, personal assessment in 2 minutes.
Take the self-test now