Inferior Turbinates, Nose Breathing and TMJ

https://youtu.be/1hYHnwCbGSk

 

Have you found difficult to breathe through your nose for a long time?

Have you noticed your mouth is often dry and you feel like you always need to grab a sip of water?

Do you grind or clench your teeth at night for as long as you remember?

Never got to the bottom of “why” you grind or clench?

Well may be it is related to enlarged inferior turbinates in your nose that is narrowing your nasal passage on one side or both.

Inferior turbinates can be enlarged or hypertrophied due to repetitive or chronic rhinitis due to allergy or catching head cold.

Typically when your nasal passage is blocked due to allergy like hay fever or cold, you have no option but to breathe in through your mouth. In order to breathe through your mouth, your tongue needs to stay down on the floor of mouth so you have clear passage to breathe in.

When it is done for long time or repetitively can make your tongue muscle to weaken or gets used to remaining on the floor of mouth.

As we have discussed in many of our videos in the past, dry mouth is strongly associated with clenching and grinding at night.

This can significantly increase the stress to the jaw joint or both joints as well as muscles of mastication and other surrounding neck muscles.

So when we come back to the original issue = Narrow nasal passage due to swollen / enlarged / hypertrophied internal turbinates, then this needs to be investigated by Ear Nose and Throat Specialist possibly in collaboration with Respiratory Specialist to help breathing better through nose.

Possible treatment options offered vary: special nasal sprays, medications, number of surgical techniques.

Once this is achieved, Physiotherapy can focus on exercises and rehabilitation of TMJ, breathing and tongue motions and postural maintenance.

 

Happy Rehab!

 

Jawkers’ Physiotherapy powered by

Metro Physiotherapy and Injury Clinic

www.metrophysiotherapy.com.au