Why we look all the way down to your feet when jaw treatment doesn't last

What follows combines several people's visits into one reconstructed account. It is not any one person's story, and anything that could identify someone has been removed.

How do people describe it when they come in?

Their jaw feels stiff and their neck and shoulders are always tight. They've had just those areas treated at several places, but it comes back before long.

In cases like this, looking only at the upper body won't give an answer. So we look at the whole body.

What do we check?

We check whether both legs are the same length, whether the pelvis tilts to one side, and how the feet press into the ground when standing and walking.

Many people go their whole lives without knowing their legs are slightly different lengths. Even a small difference is enough to tilt the pelvis.

When the pelvis tilts, the spine above it curves on its own to keep from toppling. To keep the head straight on top of that, the neck and shoulders have to hold on all day. The jaw takes the strain at the end of that chain.

So what do we do first?

We build from the ground up. We even out the difference in the feet and leg length, then loosen the stiff lower back, back and neck in turn on top of that.

It rarely ends with just one insole. These areas have been stiff for a long time, so they need to be loosened in order.

Exercise comes last. Even if the bones are aligned, the muscles will pull things back if they still remember the old shape.

Why this order?

If we start from the top, the bottom stays the same and the body pulls itself back to how it was. It's like straightening only the wall on a tilted floor.

That's why, even though you came in for your jaw, we may ask to take pictures of your feet. Many people are puzzled at first, so we explain why beforehand.

What are the limits of this approach?

Not every jaw problem comes from the feet. For more people, the upper body alone explains it; we look at this path when the problem keeps coming back.

One more thing: we don't say that evening out leg length will fix your jaw. It only goes as far as reducing the conditions that push strain to one side.

If you have the same symptoms

1. If treating just that spot keeps wearing off, we look further down.
2. Many people never know their legs are slightly different lengths.
3. When the pelvis tilts, the spine curves on its own and the neck and shoulders hold on all day.
4. We go in this order: the ground → lower back and back → neck → exercise.
5. Not every jaw problem comes from the feet.

We look at the neck, jaw and back together. Only by finding where it started can we keep the same spot from stiffening up again and again.

If the same spot keeps stiffening, or the tension starts in your neck and climbs up to your head, come in and get measured. It doesn't take long to find where it started.

Progress differs from person to person, depending on how twisted things are and how long you've lived with it.