For jaw pain, clicking and popping, locking, and the headaches no one connected to your jaw. Specialized TMJ care in Wicker Park, Humboldt Park, and Belmont Cragin.
If you’re searching for TMJ physical therapy, you’ve probably had at least one of these:
- Pain when you open your mouth, chew, or yawn
- Clicking, popping, or catching in your jaw
- Headaches no one has connected to your jaw
- Neck and shoulder tension that won’t release
- A clicking jaw that has now started to lock
You are in the right place.
At Free Body Physical Therapy, we treat the temporomandibular joint as part of a larger system that includes your neck, your posture, and the muscles around your jaw. Forty-five minutes, one on one, with a physical therapist trained in TMJ-specific manual therapy and dry needling.
Many of our TMJ patients come to us after trying a night guard, oral splint, or other dental treatment. Physical therapy works alongside what your dentist is doing, and addresses the muscular, postural, and movement contributors that dental appliances cannot.
👉 Schedule Your TMJ Evaluation
Symptoms We Treat
TMJ dysfunction (sometimes called TMD) is not a single problem. It is a category of symptoms that can show up in different combinations:
- Pain with mouth opening or closing. When you chew, yawn, talk for long periods, or open wide.
- Popping, clicking, or catching in the jaw. With or without pain. On one side or both.
- Jaw locking. Brief episodes where the jaw catches, or longer episodes where you cannot fully open or close.
- Headaches. Particularly temple, forehead, or behind-the-eye headaches that may have been called migraines or tension headaches.
- Neck and shoulder tension. Chronic tightness that does not respond to typical stretching or massage. Related to the cervical spine contributors we address in every TMJ evaluation.
- Ear pain or fullness. A sensation of pressure or pain in the ear with no infection on exam.
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) and clenching. Daytime or nighttime, with or without symptoms.
How We Treat TMJ
TMJ pain rarely lives in the jaw alone. Effective treatment addresses the joint, the surrounding muscles, the cervical spine, and the postural patterns that load the system. Our approach includes:
- Intraoral joint and soft tissue mobilization. Hands-on assessment and treatment inside the mouth to address restrictions and muscle tension that external work cannot reach.
- Manual therapy and joint mobilization. For the jaw and the cervical spine, which are mechanically connected and almost always involved together.
- Trigger point dry needling. Targeted release of muscular trigger points contributing to jaw, neck, and head pain.
- Neck and postural strengthening. Most TMJ presentations involve postural patterns that need to be retrained for the symptoms to resolve long-term.
- Education and home strategies. Awareness of jaw position, tension habits, clenching patterns, and ergonomic factors that may be feeding the problem.
Your First Visit
A 45-minute TMJ evaluation includes:
- Detailed history of your symptoms, prior dental treatment, and contributing factors
- Cervical spine assessment
- Postural assessment
- Neck and shoulder strength testing
- Jaw mobility and coordination assessment
- Ergonomic and habit review
You leave with a working diagnosis, an initial treatment when appropriate, and a clear plan.
Your TMJ Therapists
Michal Czesny, PT, DPT and Russell Deghi, PT, DPT, OCS both treat the full range of TMJ presentations, including jaw pain, clicking and locking, post-dental-treatment cases, headache, and the cervical contributors that drive most TMJ symptoms.
About Intraoral Work—Your Choice Always
Intraoral joint and soft tissue work involves your therapist performing hands-on treatment inside the mouth using a gloved finger. It is sometimes the most useful assessment and treatment tool, but it is never required.
When clinically indicated, intraoral work gives access to structures no external technique can reach. Many conditions can also be treated effectively through external work alone.
You will never be pressured. You will be told what intraoral treatment would add to your care, and you decide from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a referral?
Most patients do not need a referral to book a TMJ evaluation. Illinois is a direct access state, which means commercial insurance plans like Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna, as well as cash-pay patients, can schedule directly. Medicare has specific requirements for physician involvement in your care, so if you have Medicare please call us and we will walk you through what’s needed for your visits to be covered.
What does it cost?
We are in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and Medicare. Call us to verify your benefits before your first visit. For patients paying cash or using out-of-network benefits, the evaluation is $175 and follow-ups are $150. Each visit is a full 45 minutes with your therapist.
Will I need intraoral work, and is it safe?
Possibly. Many TMJ presentations benefit from intraoral joint and soft tissue work, which involves your therapist performing hands-on treatment inside the mouth using a gloved finger. It is safe, evidence-based, and only performed when clinically indicated and with your full consent. External-only treatment is also effective for many TMJ patients.
Can TMJ physical therapy help if I’ve already tried a night guard?
Yes. Night guards and oral splints address some aspects of TMJ dysfunction—primarily the clenching and grinding load on the joint—but they do not address muscular trigger points, postural drivers, cervical spine contributors, or movement patterns. Most TMJ patients who fully resolve their symptoms need both.
How many sessions will I need?
TMJ treatment length varies by the underlying drivers, how long you have had symptoms, and whether there are cervical and postural factors involved. You will receive a personalized estimate at your first visit.
Can dry needling help with TMJ pain?
Yes. Trigger point dry needling can be very effective for the muscular components of TMJ pain, particularly when temple headaches or jaw and neck muscle tension are part of the picture.
Schedule Your TMJ Evaluation
If you’re ready to book, you can do it online or call the location closest to you.
Wicker Park / Humboldt Park
2618 W Division St, Suite B, Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 599-3393
Belmont Cragin
6121 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 482-3300