When corrections do not hold
For the proximity of jaw and cervical spine there is an anatomical finding, not a story. For the link to pelvic and foot posture there is not. We draw this distinction clearly here, because otherwise nobody does.
You know these patients
Findings that quickly reorganise after correction. Recurring cervical and upper thoracic dysfunctions. And regularly, jaw signs that nobody has examined.
What has been measured
The anatomical finding
The trigeminal nucleus caudalis converges functionally with the dorsal horns C1–C3. That is the basis of referred pain between neck, face and head – the reason why your cervical work reaches the jaw, and vice versa.
The measured connection
TMD goes with reduced pressure pain thresholds and restricted cervical spine mobility (moderate evidence). An imbalance of masticatory muscle activity is associated with cervical myofascial pain.
And the sentence that decides our relationship
Manual therapy and splints often have comparable effects on pain and function; combining them is frequently sensible. So we do not take your place. We take over the part you cannot reach with your hands.
Where the evidence ends
For the link to spinal, pelvic and foot posture there is no reliable, predictable connection; effects appear at most small and under difficult postural conditions. A prospective study with 3D body scan found changes in the head and shoulder after three months of splint therapy – not in thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, pelvis or knee. We therefore no longer present the image of the jaw as the “upper pacemaker of body posture”.
When a referral is useful
First and without exception: red flags and unclear findings belong in a specialist work-up, before any functional diagnostics. The CMD perspective is complementary, not a substitute.
Useful
- recurring cervical dysfunctions with bite or jaw abnormalities
- jaw joint noises, bruxism, tenderness of the masticatory muscles
- when the correction regularly relapses within days
Not useful
- pelvic or foot posture as the sole question
- structural scoliosis with the expectation of influencing it via the bite
Your patient remains yours. After the assessment, or after the regulation is complete, we always refer back to you. We take on any treatment beyond this exclusively at your express, written request.
Three routes – you choose
I want to know more
The sources in full text, our measurement protocols and the clinical explanatory model with the level of evidence disclosed.
I have a question about a case
A call back from the CMD specialist, not from reception.
I would like to refer
By phone, e-mail or letter – whichever suits you. The findings report comes back to you.