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What We Treat

TMJ and jaw pain treatment in Woodbridge.

The clicking every time you open wide. The headache that starts at your jaw and ends behind your eyes. TMJ and TMD are fixable, and it starts with a cause-first evaluation of how your jaw, neck, and bite actually work together.

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Sound Familiar?

Does this sound like you?

  • A clicking or popping sound every time you open wide
  • Waking up with a sore jaw or a dull headache at the temples
  • Catching yourself clenching your teeth during the day
  • Chewing on one side because the other side feels stuck or sore
  • A jaw that locks or catches partway through opening
  • Tightness in your neck and shoulders that seems tied to your jaw pain

Two or more? Keep reading.

Why It Happens

Jaw pain is a symptom. Something causes it.

Your jaw joint doesn’t work in isolation. It’s connected to your neck posture, the muscles you use to chew, and often the stress you carry through your day without realizing it. Clenching or grinding overloads the joint and the muscles around it, forward head posture changes how the jaw tracks when it opens, and old dental work or a previous jaw injury can throw the mechanics off further.

That’s why treating TMJ and TMD takes more than a night guard alone. A cause-first evaluation looks at your jaw mechanics, neck mobility, and muscle tension together, so the plan addresses what’s actually driving the clicking, the headaches, or the pain, not just the symptom sitting on top of it.

You’re the one who grinds through stress instead of stopping to deal with it, so it finds somewhere else to go, and lately that’s your jaw. That’s not a character flaw. It just means the tension needs somewhere better to go than your molars at 2am.

Physical therapist assessing jaw and neck movement during a TMJ evaluation

The Honest Truth

Waiting on a jaw doesn’t make it wait on you.

If you keep waiting

  • Headaches start showing up more days than not
  • Clicking can progress to catching or locking partway open
  • Chewing on one side reshapes your bite pattern over time

If you start this week

  • Your evaluation looks for what’s driving your jaw pain
  • Hands-on release starts calming the jaw muscles before you leave
  • You get a plan with an endpoint, not a lifetime of a night guard alone

Nobody regrets starting too early. Every week, someone in our clinic says they regret waiting.

How We Fix It

The same four phases. Built for your jaw.

Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like for TMJ and TMD.

Weeks 1–2

Pain

Calm the jaw muscles down.

Hands-on release of the jaw, temple, and neck muscles eases tension and can take the edge off the headaches.

Weeks 2–6

Prime

Restore even jaw movement.

Targeted mobility work retrains the jaw to open and close evenly, reducing the clicking and catching.

Weeks 6–9

Perform

Strengthen postural support.

Neck and upper back strengthening addresses the posture that keeps overloading the jaw joint day to day.

Weeks 9+

Prevent

Keep clenching from creeping back.

Habit awareness and a home routine get put in place so stress and clenching don’t undo the progress you’ve made.

I would go to see Ross and he’s great, and all of the assistants were super sweet. I always had a good time going to physical therapy.

Shared by Heather H. · Verified patient review

Before: dreading another appointment on the calendar

After: actually looking forward to seeing Ross and the team

TMJ/TMD 5-star review

Related Conditions

Jaw pain rarely stays in one place.

Compensation patterns often show up nearby. Here’s what else we treat.

1

Headaches

That tension headache that seems to start behind your jaw.

Learn More 2

Neck Pain

Stiffness that feeds the same tension pulling on your jaw.

Learn More 3

Chronic Pain

Pain that’s stuck around long enough that it’s changed how you move.

Learn More

Questions, Answered

What people ask before booking for TMJ and jaw pain.

Both can play a role, and often work best together. A dentist addresses the bite and can fit a night guard, while a physical therapist addresses the muscles, joint mechanics, and neck posture driving the pain and clicking. Many patients see faster, more complete relief when both are involved.

Sometimes clicking reduces significantly, and sometimes a mild click remains even after pain and function improve. The good news is that clicking on its own, without pain or locking, usually isn’t something you need to fix. Our focus is on reducing pain, restoring smooth movement, and preventing the locking episodes.

A full plan for TMJ and TMD typically runs through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent, over 6–9 weeks, depending on how long the pattern has been building. You’ll always know which phase you’re in and what’s left.

Book Your Visit

Ready when you are.

Request a time and a real person calls you back, usually within two business hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.

  • (703) 763-3922 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
  • Same-week appointments available

4.9 · 476 Google reviews

Typical response: under 2 business hours

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So we know who to look for when you walk in.

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