Why is it important to do self-care at home while I’m undergoing treatment?
Patients spend significantly more time away from our office than they do with us. That’s why the diet and exercises we outline for our patients under “self-care” are so important. Self-care is an essential part of rehabilitating your jaw joint (just as it would be if you needed to rehabilitate your knee, your ankle or any other joint in your body). Through self-care, you’ll learn about things you can things you can do (and things you should avoid) throughout your normal day to facilitate “healing.” More specifically, self-care will help to enhance the effectiveness of therapies you receive at our office, so that you can regain mobility of a compromised jaw joint and restore full range of motion. Self-care also helps to establish a “healing and wellness pattern,” which will pave the way for you to manage your TMJ-related pain and dysfunction — and sustain the results of treatment once completed – without having to continue to visit our office.
