TMJ Self screen – DeviationThis is a test of your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) / jaw. Is there any pain? If your jaw moves to one side? Is it on opening? Is it on closing? Is it both? Is there a click? Does your jaw move to one side then back? As you can see, there are a lot of questions to ask and get the answers to. As a disclaimer this is just a screen you can use to assess if you may potentially have a Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). The easiest thing we can focus on here is your function. When you attempted the previous self screen – Could you open 3 knuckle widths? – normal More? – HYPERmobile less? HYPOmobileNow remember your jaw has two temporomandibular joints. If one side has MORE range than the other. your jaw will shift to a side. Sometimes too much range / or too little range can be caused issues affecting the articular disc. If you have a click chances are you may have what&;s known as a disc displacement. The next question is which way is the disc displacing and what can we do about it. But first, ask yourselves these questions6. What movements cause your jaw pain? does it change over time?7. Do you have pain during chewing? swallowing? biting? yawning? speaking?8. Do you habitually chew gum? eat lots of chewy candies, hard candies, corn nuts? Do you continually move your mouth?9. Do you usually chew on just one side?10. Does anybody tell you that you grind your teeth at night?Your answers to these questions should get you thinking about your daily habits and what types of things may be causing your TMD. It is much better to determine and treat the root cause of the problem. But for now the next videos in this series will show you some basic stretches and exercises for your TMJ. series posted on April 7, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
TMJ Self screen – Jaw opening. This is a test of your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) / jaw. It is a basic function of your jaw in order to allow you it to function! You need to be able to do this to eat. Try the screen. Answer the following questions. I&;ll be adding more and more questions to this series that will prompt some thought if you have jaw issues (whether you know it or not!) 1. Could you open it wide enough?2. Was there a click or sound? If so, on opening or closing? or both3. Did it hurt? If so, on opening or closing?4. Did it lock or get stuck? 5. If you have any pain, tightness or discomfort – which side is it?Answer these questions as they can indicate a TMJ dysfunction or TMD. Some other symptoms to note during your self scree of TMD include: HeadacheWorn teeth (due to the teeth not resting on each other properly or whats known as malocclusion)Painful muscles in the cheek, temple, or neckClicking or poppingEarachesPain behind the eyesRinging in the earsToothache What we&;re trying to begin to do is pain a diagnostic picture. As a clinician these are the structures I will be checking and keeping in mind with your answers: Musculature of the Neck, face, and jawCartilaginous disk Ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels surrounding the joint, mouth, and teethDoes this sound like a lot? Well it is! but we&;ll slowly delve further into the rabbit hole. series posted on April 7, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or jaw joint is a two hinged joint that allows for complex movements to allow you to eat, talk, yawn and do things with your mouth. Swipe so see what the TMJ is comprised of: Muscles of chewingJoint capsuleArticular DiscTissue behind the discThese guys have to work together and work well to ensure smooooth talking. Your body is a great compensator so if things don&;t change, your body will adapt and can become a dysfunction or disorders. Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) can cause a lot of pain and lifestyle changes. These are a lot more common than you would realize. Ask yourself the following and you may have some TMD or the start of one. Look in the mirror, when you open your mouth and close it does it open straight or does it move to one side?Do you chew only on one side?Does your jaw click, pop or make sounds?Do you grind your teeth at night?Do you get a lot of headaches and nothing seems to help?A good clinical health history and a proper TMJ assessment will help you with this. Follow me and stay posted for more. posted on April 5, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
When it comes down to it your body is like a well oiled machine. Much like your car, a little bit of maintenance work goes a long way so that you don&;t find yourself stuck on the side of the road with an engine that goes kaput. In order to prevent this, you make sure you get your oil change and have maintenance done on your car. Treat your body the same. Swipe for a graph of a graph demonstrating how stress from daily tasks accumulates over time unnoticed. When your body encounters stress, your body responds over time by working with the stress by compensating in order to allow you to function normally. A lot of the time these compensations can go unnoticed but create physiological change. It can take quite some time for these compensations to raise their ugly heads and manifest as something you notice; whether that be a click, a range limitation or pain. Once we&;ve hit this point, much more work needs to be done in order to correct this change. Swipe again. Knowing that stress can affect the body and cause change over time, the same can be said for positive change! Do your body a favor and perform regular maintenance work on it. If you do this enough, you can prevent more major issues in the future. If you want change, do something different everyday. Often enough this is accomplished by warming up/cooling down your muscles and joints properly. As long as you assess and correct your compensations you can prevent or delay unwanted change. If it&;s range of motion limitations perform mobility work. If your muscles are improperly balanced in strength and tone do strength work. If you&;re not sure what needs work, have a professional assess you and I can nit pick on things you can do to prepare your body for anything. posted on April 3, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
A common climbing problem is pain on the inside portion of the wrist. Sometimes this pain can be a result to damage to the red circle – or TFCC, which is a cartilage structure on the pinky finger side of the wrist. It&;s function is to support and cushion the small bones of the wrist and stabilize the bones of the forearm (radius and ulna) when the hand grasps or the forearm rotates. It&;s important to strengthen the wrist in more than just flexion and extension. When doing this exercise you are working your wrist using radial and ulnar deviation. Keep in mind the following:Stabilize the forearmSmooth, steady controlled motionGrab closer to the CENTER of the stick for an EASIER exercise Grab closer to the END of the stick for a HARDER exercise Rinse and repeat 20 times as part of your warm up or for sets as an integral part of wrist maintenance series posted on March 22, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
Broomstick rotations or Pronation and supination of the arm.Another wrist mobilization and a strengthening exercise I use as part of my wrist sequence. Supination is the motion similar to if you were to try and scoop up some water with your hand and have a drink or to tighten a screwdriver (Righty tighty). Pronation is the opposite motion.Using a broomstick perform this action in a SLOW and controlled setting and you&;ll feel your forearms working hard. The more midline to the stick you are grabbing the easier the movement. The closer to the end you grab, the more resistance you will feel. This happens because you are changing the centre of gravity of the object. Do sets of 20 reps for both arms and enjoy your bulletproof wrists. series posted on March 21, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
Ulnar / radial deviation fist or patent pending URDF! This is both a wrist mobilization and a strengthening exercise I use as part of my wrist sequence. It is using what&;s known as a closed kinetic chain (the hand is fixed against the ground) eccentric movement(you contract your muscles while they lengthen) The more weight you apply with your body the more tension there is on your muscles. Start off with minimal bodyweight and slowly progress through the motion feeling the end ranges of your wrist. This exercise is great used as a warmup before crushing and to bulletproof your wrist. You can also use it after the sharp pain subsides with a series posted on March 14, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
Go the extra mile. Are you working your hardest to succeed? In your career, in love, in life? Are you 100% certain with every move you make? Nobody is. If you want to invest your money, you seek a financial advice. If your car breaks down, you go to a mechanic. If your body is aching or isn&;t able to do what you have done before, what do you do? blame your age? blame a past injury? Please. Be extraordinary. Let me help you be your best posted on March 14, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
This is a basic wrist flexion stretch which will help build the foundation of mobility required in the wrists for things such as on the rings. This stretches out the extensor group of muscles and tendons located on the outside and backhand side of your arm. The tendons responsible for extension of your fingers and wrist originate at a common origin known as the lateral epicondyle of your arm near the elbow. This is the overused muscle group in or lateral epicondylitis! Here I&;m performing 5s hold with pulses and slowly changing the angles at which I press at to target different areas of the wrist. I do this by rotating my elbows slightly further or less. You can also try and perform 3-5 reps of 15s isometric contractions and relax periods of 30s. (Once again you want to try and spend a minimal total of 90s in the stretch)When performing a static isometric stretch you assume the position of the stretch to target the muscles of the forearm, then you tense the muscle against the floor (without actually moving!) Hold that muscular tension for 15s, then relax for about 30s. Rinse and repeat until your desired length! Happy stretching. series posted on March 2, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
When advising my patients about proper posture and spinal sparing strategies I remind them that posture is always dynamic. As humans we need to move in and out of &;proper&; posture and enjoy the full range of movement our bodies allow us. This makes me always look towards your goals. Short term goals are often to become painfree and to create a stabilized system. Longer term goals, however, often include aspirations to go out and do something. After proper rehab and training, I encourage movement, doing things outside of the ordinary and pushing limits. posted on February 22, 2017 by Dr. Jonathan Leung | No comments by
