May 5, 2025 • 16 mins
In this episode of TMI Talk with Dr. Mary, we dive into one of the most overlooked full-body connections: the link between the jaw (TMJ) and the pelvic floor. If your clients are dealing with jaw tension, clenching, or TMJ issues—there’s a good chance they’re also holding tension in the pelvic floor. And if you’re only treating one site, you're likely missing the full picture.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why tight jaws often mean tight pelvic floors
- The fascial connection from tongue → diaphragm → pelvic floor
- How diaphragmatic restriction leads to compensatory jaw and pelvic tension
- The role of the autonomic nervous system in clenching, grinding, and guarding
- Why HRV and breathwork are clinical tools, not just wellness fluff
- How digestion, posture, and stress all play into this loop
00:00 Introduction to TMJ and Pelvic Floor Connection
01:55 Understanding the Fascial Connection
05:51 Nervous System's Role in TMJ and Pelvic Floor
12:41 Impact of Digestion on TMJ and Pelvic Floor
15:49 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
If you are a health or movement professional and want to stay in touch with future episodes, webinars, courses, events and more. Subscribe to my email list here
I’ll see you in a week!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
mary (00:00):
Welcome back to TMI talk with Dr.
Mary.
I'm your host, Dr.
Mary.
Today we're gonna be talkingabout a hot topic and the TMJ
and pelvic floor connection.
Many people are reallyfascinated about this connection
because it's not in the sameareas, and I always find this
fascinating because the fullbody is connected and that is
gonna be something I'm gonna bepreaching all the time.
(00:20):
I.
I believe we often miss asclinicians and even movement
professionals and understandinghow the full body is connected.
And so in this episode, we'regonna be talking about how the
TMJ and pelvic floor areconnected and how this applies
to us as movement professionalsor clinicians working in rehab
(00:41):
or even in the healthcareindustry.
We're gonna go over the threemain ways this happens and how
we can address it in the clinic.
So without further ado, we'll goahead and jump into the episode.
Welcome back to TMI talk withDr.
Mary where we dive intonon-traditional forms of health
(01:02):
that were once labeled as tabooor dismissed as Woo.
I'm your host, Dr.
Mary.
I'm an orthopedic and pelvicfloor physical therapist who
helps health.
Movement and rehab professionalsintegrate whole body healing by
blending the nervous system intotraditional biomechanics to
maximize patient outcomes.
I use a non-traditional approachthat has helped thousands of
(01:24):
people address the deeper rootsof health that often get
overlooked in conventionalwestern training.
And now we are gonna be startingour next episode.
Alrighty, yes, the TMJ andpelvic floor, such a hot topic.
Every time I talk to my clientsabout this and saying, oh, if
you have jaw pain, you likelyhave pelvic floor pain or pelvic
(01:44):
floor tightness.
Their minds are blown.
So wanted to dive in on why thismatters and, and how we can
approach this.
So the first way that the pelvicfloor is related to the jaw is
gonna be through the fascialconnection.
So if you've ever looked at TomMeyer's work, you can see that
(02:06):
the tongue has fascialconnections all the way to the
pelvic floor.
So through the diaphragm andinto the pelvic floor.
It also goes all the way down tothe feet.
But we're gonna be just talkingabout the Pel.
Floor and jaw connection.
And so that's a fascia, right?
And so if we don't know that andwe're treating the pelvic floor
(02:27):
and somebody is having TMJtightness as well, usually they
correlate with each other.
And so what that means is, well,if we know there's a fascial
connection from the jaw all theway down to the pelvic floor
with a diaphragm in betweenlooking at the diaphragm, when
we're looking at treating thejaw and pelvic floor, because a
(02:49):
few different things happen.
First, if our diaphragm isrestricted so the diaphragm can
become restricted because we'rehunched over in this.
Fight or flight position typingon a computer all day, and then
our eyes are looking forward andoh, we're only looking at one
object.
And so our primal instinct goesattack, right?
If we're slouched over notbreathing efficiently and we're
(03:11):
staring at a singular object,our primal instinct is to think
that we are defending ourselves.
And so what can happen there isthe diaphragm almost gets stuck.
I mean, it's still there.
But the fascia around thediaphragm, the rib mobility
especially, we need that 360 ribexpansion when we're doing
diaphragmatic breathing.
(03:33):
And with that, we need thoracicmobility.
We need fascial mobility alongthe entire thorax, so along the
ribs, along especially the frontaspect of the abdomen doing a
diaphragm release.
If you're not sure exactly whatthat is.
I can always talk about that onanother episode.
But basically you're going underthe ribs just slightly and
(03:56):
slowly along the rib cage tohelp release that diaphragm.
And when we do that, whathappens is we also have fascia
all along the front of our chesttoo.
So if we're not looking at thefascia, I know we used to think
like, oh.
That's just non-contractualtissue.
We know that's not the case.
(04:16):
Now.
It's directly interconnectedwith the nervous system.
So the more we stay up to datewith fascia, the more we stay up
to date with how much faster wecan get results for our clients.
And so now if the diaphragmisn't pumping that way, right,
so say it's restricted, we'regonna be using a lot of our
accessory muscles.
And now if we're using ouraccessory muscles, so our neck
(04:38):
muscles, then we're gonna beoverusing our jaw, right?
And then if we're slouchedforward.
Our neck is in this forwardposition, so it's further away
from the back.
So now our jaw is in thisawkward position, so it's not as
easy to open and close.
And so we can get to somedysfunction there.
Now, from the aspect of thepelvic floor, if our diaphragm
(05:01):
isn't pumping efficiently, so ifyou think about the diaphragms,
an upside down bowl and thepelvic floor is an up, uh, uh,
bowl that's right side up.
Okay.
They, they have an inverserelationship.
So as the diaphragm comes down,the pelvic floor lengthens, it's
almost like this little sumppump.
So the more that we get thatmoving, the more it tells our
body we are in safe mode.
(05:24):
We are, we are.
Okay.
So it tells the body it's safeto go into the parasympathetic
nervous system, which is thatrest and digest.
And so that can do two things.
One, just that movement oflengthening the pelvic floor,
but then also the pelvic floormuscles are going to relax when
the body knows that it's safe.
(05:46):
So that's one major way that thepelvic floor and jaw are
connected.
The second are gonna be from anervous system standpoint.
I mean these all overlap, butthe second is gonna be from the
nervous system standpoint.
A majority of patients that I'veseen for TMJ dysfunction.
It is not related directly tothe TMJ.
And side note, a lot of peoplesay, I have TMJ instead of I
(06:10):
have TMD, tempo Mandibular JointDisorder.
Even clinicians will say it,they'll say, I have TMJ.
And I'm like, yeah, we all, weall have uh, TMJ.
I find that interesting thatthat's just kind of taken off.
But, so if we have TMD, so if wehave temporomandibular
dysfunction.
(06:32):
A lot of times I've seen it'sthis clenching motion, it's this
protective pulling down.
It's this needing to controlwhat's going on, so the body
just almost absorbs it.
And so if somebody doesn't havejust an outright, a lot of times
people have more just.
Jaw tightness because of chronicfight or flight.
(06:53):
And so they're likely grindingtheir teeth at night.
And so that can also besomething to think about from
what they're doing before goingto bed.
Are they on their phone?
Did they have a difficultconversation?
Did they watch a scary show?
Like these are things to noticebecause as they go into
sleeping.
If their nervous system isheightened at that point, it's
going to stay heightened atnight.
(07:16):
So that's something to thinkabout.
So think about it as this, ifyou are running from a bear or a
lion or whatever animal youwanna picture, um, the last
thing your body wants to do iseat or poop.
Okay.
It's the last thing it wants todo.
The blood is diverted away fromthe gut and into the arms and
(07:38):
legs.
So from a nervous systemstandpoint, these are beginning
of digestion and end ofdigestion.
And so with that is the bodyjust does not think it's safe.
So it's gonna clench to closeour mouth and close our butt and
close our, if we have a vagina,the vagina.
(07:58):
And so.
Working so much on the nervoussystem with this, right, and so
this goes back to the first one.
If we, we can work on someone'sjaw and pelvic floor and hip
muscles and back muscles allday.
But if we're not understandingwhy they're chronically in fight
or flight and they might noteven know that they're in it.
So that's another massive piecethat I've seen in the clinic.
(08:21):
So.
First we have to get them toidentify that they're in it.
Most people, have some form of afitness tracker, and if they
don't, that's okay too.
They can measure it in otherways, but.
I find that most people with anApple Watch or any of these
(08:42):
other fitness watches, they'retracking it and they don't
actually know that they'retracking it.
So they have a ton of data.
So the best way that I've seento help people start to
recognize that they're in thisfight or flight is to track
their HRV, and I can do a wholenother episode on HRV, but
basically if your heart ratevariability, so the heart rate
(09:04):
measures.
So that it measures the heartrate variability.
So the time in between each beatis a variable.
And what that means is if yourheart is going, beep, beep,
beep, beep, beep, beep, beep,beep, beep, beep.
You have less time in betweeneach beep.
Now if it's more of beep beep.
Beep, you have more time.
(09:25):
So it's actuallycounterintuitive when we think
of HRV, we might think a lowernumber is better when actually
we want a higher number.
So you can actually start to seeon their records or on their, in
their system.
Of their Apple watch orwhatever, uh, gadget that they
have, they ha might have allthis data that they didn't even
(09:46):
know that they had.
And so they can startcorrelating when those moments
of stress have happened.
And so basically HRV is gonna belooking at all those things as a
variable.
So the quicker we go from beep,beep, beep, be beep to beep.
Beep beep.
That's gonna give us a higherheart rate variability.
So it's varying in thosedifferent aspects.
(10:09):
So if we're staying in thatreally quick beat all day, we're
gonna have a lower heart ratevariability'cause it's staying
the same.
And so.
It is impossible not to be infight or flight.
It's just part of our humannature.
I've seen way too many peoplesaying, oh, we should never be
in fight or flight.
That's denying the humanexperience, and that's almost
(10:30):
gaslighting.
So I've seen this on the otherside of the healing industry, is
that we're being told that, andthat's just actually completely
wrong because there's so manyfactors that come into play with
the nervous system.
We have so many.
People that are being oppressedby the systems that we have.
(10:51):
This can be women, people ofcolor.
We have different communitiesthat are suppressed.
Different religions, differentcultures, different sexes,
different genders, all of thedifferent things.
And so.
We have to be conscious of whenwe are talking to people about
(11:12):
their nervous system, being verysensitive to the fact that their
stressors might or might bedifferent than your stressors.
So if you are talking to asingle mom of four children,
it's gonna be a lot harder tohelp them get to take the time
for themselves because theydon't have the resources.
Meanwhile, if you have somebodythat doesn't have children and
(11:34):
ample resources.
You know, they may have theability and more time and
bandwidth to be able to regulatetheir nervous systems.
We wanna be sensitive to that.
And on top of that, justthinking about what our body is
doing when we are in fight orflight.
So making sure that if you knowthat you have a patient or a
(11:57):
client that has pelvic floortightness and their jaw is
tight, two, diaphragmaticbreathing, starting to get them
to the track, their HRV, if youdo jaw work, great upper
cervical work is.
Crucial to treating the TMJ.
If we're not treating the uppercervical spine or thoracic
spine, we're missing majorcomponents because the mechanics
(12:20):
of the jaw shift forward when weshift forward.
So it's supposed to of go downand forward when we open our
jaw, the the TMJ and a lot oftimes we're already forward, so
we're not getting that kind ofdown and forward motion from the
jaw opening as efficiently.
So we have to be looking atposture with the jaw, which then
directs it.
(12:41):
Directly affects the pelvicfloor, and third is gonna be the
beginning and end of digestion.
So again, these all interplaywith each other, but the
beginning and end of digestionis so if somebody potentially is
not chewing their food asefficiently up here.
(13:02):
Then what happens is we're notgetting enough saliva and we're
not getting enough saliva.
That doesn't tell the GI systemthat we're digesting.
So what happens is we just startkind of swallowing things whole.
And then what happens is when wedo that, it takes so many ti, so
much more time and resources forour gut to slowly digest that
(13:22):
food.
So what happens is the gut canstart slowing down because we
have not.
Adequately chewed our foodcompletely.
The getting that saliva iscrucial to starting to break
down the food, so the rest ofthe body.
So we've got the esophagus andthe stomach and the small
intestine, and then the colon.
(13:42):
Those don't have to work ashard, so.
If somebody isn't fully chewingtheir food and they're
experiencing constipation, thisis something we wanna consider.
'cause constipation can causepelvic floor tightness and
pelvic pain simply becausethere's not much space in the
pelvis.
And so this also goes back tothe diaphragm as well.
(14:05):
So if they are not breathing asefficiently, we're not getting
that kind of downward pumpingmotion through the gut.
And then on top of that, we'renot telling the nervous system
that we're safe.
So it's important that we'relooking at all of that too.
In addition, uh.
Dental health is superimportant.
You're gonna start seeing moreof this come out If somebody is
(14:26):
not brushing their teethregularly, if they are not
flossing regularly, or sometimespeople change and they use
mouthwash.
I know mouthwash can becontroversial.
Um, depending on who you talk tohave, you can have your clients
gonna do their own research, butsome people say, can.
Um, affect the microbiome.
(14:48):
I haven't dove as much intothat, but I'm just sharing you
with some information.
If you're with somebody that'sjust feeling super constipated
and you're not really sure why,I find most people that are
constipated, which is I have aton of people that are
constipated regularly and theythink it's normal.
Constipation is not normal.
Um, but what happens is we needto be sitting down and.
(15:10):
Fully chewing our food toapplesauce.
Consistency.
Hey, I'm, I don't do this allthe time, but then I notice I'm
bloated or I don't feel wellafter.
So just being aware of how allof that coexist together,
because it can be pretty massivewith your clients.
So dental, health, and thensitting down and chewing to
applesauce.
Consistency when you can.
(15:32):
Because that's gonna help withthat digestion and then water as
well.
It's gonna help everything flowmore fully.
You can do all of the gutcleanses in the world.
You can do all the differentthings, but if we're in fight or
flight when we're eating, it'sjust, it's gonna be an uphill
battle for the body to digest.
So in summary, I really hopethis helped looking at all of
these things together because.
(15:55):
It really can transform yourpractice and help your clients
get to a whole nother level.
And, and it's so cool becausethey often get really excited to
know how the body is connectedand you're teaching them.
And when you teach them thatthey feel so empowered and this
builds such strong rapport foryou and your clients.
So I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
Thank you so much for listeningto my podcast.
(16:17):
It would be a huge help if youcould subscribe and rate the
podcast.
It helps us reach more peopleand make a bigger impact.
I would also love it if youcould join my email list, which
is LinkedIn, the caption forpodcast updates, upcoming offers
and events.
You can also find me on TikTok,YouTube and Instagram at Dr.
Mary pt.
Thanks again.
Welcome back to TMI talk with Dr.
Mary.
I'm your host, Dr.
Mary.
Today we're gonna be talkingabout a hot topic and the TMJ
and pelvic floor connection.
Many people are reallyfascinated about this connection
because it's not in the sameareas, and I always find this
fascinating because the fullbody is connected and that is
gonna be something I'm gonna bepreaching all the time.
(00:20):
I.
I believe we often miss asclinicians and even movement
professionals and understandinghow the full body is connected.
And so in this episode, we'regonna be talking about how the
TMJ and pelvic floor areconnected and how this applies
to us as movement professionalsor clinicians working in rehab
(00:41):
or even in the healthcareindustry.
We're gonna go over the threemain ways this happens and how
we can address it in the clinic.
So without further ado, we'll goahead and jump into the episode.
Welcome back to TMI talk withDr.
Mary where we dive intonon-traditional forms of health
(01:02):
that were once labeled as tabooor dismissed as Woo.
I'm your host, Dr.
Mary.
I'm an orthopedic and pelvicfloor physical therapist who
helps health.
Movement and rehab professionalsintegrate whole body healing by
blending the nervous system intotraditional biomechanics to
maximize patient outcomes.
I use a non-traditional approachthat has helped thousands of
(01:24):
people address the deeper rootsof health that often get
overlooked in conventionalwestern training.
And now we are gonna be startingour next episode.
Alrighty, yes, the TMJ andpelvic floor, such a hot topic.
Every time I talk to my clientsabout this and saying, oh, if
you have jaw pain, you likelyhave pelvic floor pain or pelvic
(01:44):
floor tightness.
Their minds are blown.
So wanted to dive in on why thismatters and, and how we can
approach this.
So the first way that the pelvicfloor is related to the jaw is
gonna be through the fascialconnection.
So if you've ever looked at TomMeyer's work, you can see that
(02:06):
the tongue has fascialconnections all the way to the
pelvic floor.
So through the diaphragm andinto the pelvic floor.
It also goes all the way down tothe feet.
But we're gonna be just talkingabout the Pel.
Floor and jaw connection.
And so that's a fascia, right?
And so if we don't know that andwe're treating the pelvic floor
(02:27):
and somebody is having TMJtightness as well, usually they
correlate with each other.
And so what that means is, well,if we know there's a fascial
connection from the jaw all theway down to the pelvic floor
with a diaphragm in betweenlooking at the diaphragm, when
we're looking at treating thejaw and pelvic floor, because a
(02:49):
few different things happen.
First, if our diaphragm isrestricted so the diaphragm can
become restricted because we'rehunched over in this.
Fight or flight position typingon a computer all day, and then
our eyes are looking forward andoh, we're only looking at one
object.
And so our primal instinct goesattack, right?
If we're slouched over notbreathing efficiently and we're
(03:11):
staring at a singular object,our primal instinct is to think
that we are defending ourselves.
And so what can happen there isthe diaphragm almost gets stuck.
I mean, it's still there.
But the fascia around thediaphragm, the rib mobility
especially, we need that 360 ribexpansion when we're doing
diaphragmatic breathing.
(03:33):
And with that, we need thoracicmobility.
We need fascial mobility alongthe entire thorax, so along the
ribs, along especially the frontaspect of the abdomen doing a
diaphragm release.
If you're not sure exactly whatthat is.
I can always talk about that onanother episode.
But basically you're going underthe ribs just slightly and
(03:56):
slowly along the rib cage tohelp release that diaphragm.
And when we do that, whathappens is we also have fascia
all along the front of our chesttoo.
So if we're not looking at thefascia, I know we used to think
like, oh.
That's just non-contractualtissue.
We know that's not the case.
(04:16):
Now.
It's directly interconnectedwith the nervous system.
So the more we stay up to datewith fascia, the more we stay up
to date with how much faster wecan get results for our clients.
And so now if the diaphragmisn't pumping that way, right,
so say it's restricted, we'regonna be using a lot of our
accessory muscles.
And now if we're using ouraccessory muscles, so our neck
(04:38):
muscles, then we're gonna beoverusing our jaw, right?
And then if we're slouchedforward.
Our neck is in this forwardposition, so it's further away
from the back.
So now our jaw is in thisawkward position, so it's not as
easy to open and close.
And so we can get to somedysfunction there.
Now, from the aspect of thepelvic floor, if our diaphragm
(05:01):
isn't pumping efficiently, so ifyou think about the diaphragms,
an upside down bowl and thepelvic floor is an up, uh, uh,
bowl that's right side up.
Okay.
They, they have an inverserelationship.
So as the diaphragm comes down,the pelvic floor lengthens, it's
almost like this little sumppump.
So the more that we get thatmoving, the more it tells our
body we are in safe mode.
(05:24):
We are, we are.
Okay.
So it tells the body it's safeto go into the parasympathetic
nervous system, which is thatrest and digest.
And so that can do two things.
One, just that movement oflengthening the pelvic floor,
but then also the pelvic floormuscles are going to relax when
the body knows that it's safe.
(05:46):
So that's one major way that thepelvic floor and jaw are
connected.
The second are gonna be from anervous system standpoint.
I mean these all overlap, butthe second is gonna be from the
nervous system standpoint.
A majority of patients that I'veseen for TMJ dysfunction.
It is not related directly tothe TMJ.
And side note, a lot of peoplesay, I have TMJ instead of I
(06:10):
have TMD, tempo Mandibular JointDisorder.
Even clinicians will say it,they'll say, I have TMJ.
And I'm like, yeah, we all, weall have uh, TMJ.
I find that interesting thatthat's just kind of taken off.
But, so if we have TMD, so if wehave temporomandibular
dysfunction.
(06:32):
A lot of times I've seen it'sthis clenching motion, it's this
protective pulling down.
It's this needing to controlwhat's going on, so the body
just almost absorbs it.
And so if somebody doesn't havejust an outright, a lot of times
people have more just.
Jaw tightness because of chronicfight or flight.
(06:53):
And so they're likely grindingtheir teeth at night.
And so that can also besomething to think about from
what they're doing before goingto bed.
Are they on their phone?
Did they have a difficultconversation?
Did they watch a scary show?
Like these are things to noticebecause as they go into
sleeping.
If their nervous system isheightened at that point, it's
going to stay heightened atnight.
(07:16):
So that's something to thinkabout.
So think about it as this, ifyou are running from a bear or a
lion or whatever animal youwanna picture, um, the last
thing your body wants to do iseat or poop.
Okay.
It's the last thing it wants todo.
The blood is diverted away fromthe gut and into the arms and
(07:38):
legs.
So from a nervous systemstandpoint, these are beginning
of digestion and end ofdigestion.
And so with that is the bodyjust does not think it's safe.
So it's gonna clench to closeour mouth and close our butt and
close our, if we have a vagina,the vagina.
(07:58):
And so.
Working so much on the nervoussystem with this, right, and so
this goes back to the first one.
If we, we can work on someone'sjaw and pelvic floor and hip
muscles and back muscles allday.
But if we're not understandingwhy they're chronically in fight
or flight and they might noteven know that they're in it.
So that's another massive piecethat I've seen in the clinic.
(08:21):
So.
First we have to get them toidentify that they're in it.
Most people, have some form of afitness tracker, and if they
don't, that's okay too.
They can measure it in otherways, but.
I find that most people with anApple Watch or any of these
(08:42):
other fitness watches, they'retracking it and they don't
actually know that they'retracking it.
So they have a ton of data.
So the best way that I've seento help people start to
recognize that they're in thisfight or flight is to track
their HRV, and I can do a wholenother episode on HRV, but
basically if your heart ratevariability, so the heart rate
(09:04):
measures.
So that it measures the heartrate variability.
So the time in between each beatis a variable.
And what that means is if yourheart is going, beep, beep,
beep, beep, beep, beep, beep,beep, beep, beep.
You have less time in betweeneach beep.
Now if it's more of beep beep.
Beep, you have more time.
(09:25):
So it's actuallycounterintuitive when we think
of HRV, we might think a lowernumber is better when actually
we want a higher number.
So you can actually start to seeon their records or on their, in
their system.
Of their Apple watch orwhatever, uh, gadget that they
have, they ha might have allthis data that they didn't even
(09:46):
know that they had.
And so they can startcorrelating when those moments
of stress have happened.
And so basically HRV is gonna belooking at all those things as a
variable.
So the quicker we go from beep,beep, beep, be beep to beep.
Beep beep.
That's gonna give us a higherheart rate variability.
So it's varying in thosedifferent aspects.
(10:09):
So if we're staying in thatreally quick beat all day, we're
gonna have a lower heart ratevariability'cause it's staying
the same.
And so.
It is impossible not to be infight or flight.
It's just part of our humannature.
I've seen way too many peoplesaying, oh, we should never be
in fight or flight.
That's denying the humanexperience, and that's almost
(10:30):
gaslighting.
So I've seen this on the otherside of the healing industry, is
that we're being told that, andthat's just actually completely
wrong because there's so manyfactors that come into play with
the nervous system.
We have so many.
People that are being oppressedby the systems that we have.
(10:51):
This can be women, people ofcolor.
We have different communitiesthat are suppressed.
Different religions, differentcultures, different sexes,
different genders, all of thedifferent things.
And so.
We have to be conscious of whenwe are talking to people about
(11:12):
their nervous system, being verysensitive to the fact that their
stressors might or might bedifferent than your stressors.
So if you are talking to asingle mom of four children,
it's gonna be a lot harder tohelp them get to take the time
for themselves because theydon't have the resources.
Meanwhile, if you have somebodythat doesn't have children and
(11:34):
ample resources.
You know, they may have theability and more time and
bandwidth to be able to regulatetheir nervous systems.
We wanna be sensitive to that.
And on top of that, justthinking about what our body is
doing when we are in fight orflight.
So making sure that if you knowthat you have a patient or a
(11:57):
client that has pelvic floortightness and their jaw is
tight, two, diaphragmaticbreathing, starting to get them
to the track, their HRV, if youdo jaw work, great upper
cervical work is.
Crucial to treating the TMJ.
If we're not treating the uppercervical spine or thoracic
spine, we're missing majorcomponents because the mechanics
(12:20):
of the jaw shift forward when weshift forward.
So it's supposed to of go downand forward when we open our
jaw, the the TMJ and a lot oftimes we're already forward, so
we're not getting that kind ofdown and forward motion from the
jaw opening as efficiently.
So we have to be looking atposture with the jaw, which then
directs it.
(12:41):
Directly affects the pelvicfloor, and third is gonna be the
beginning and end of digestion.
So again, these all interplaywith each other, but the
beginning and end of digestionis so if somebody potentially is
not chewing their food asefficiently up here.
(13:02):
Then what happens is we're notgetting enough saliva and we're
not getting enough saliva.
That doesn't tell the GI systemthat we're digesting.
So what happens is we just startkind of swallowing things whole.
And then what happens is when wedo that, it takes so many ti, so
much more time and resources forour gut to slowly digest that
(13:22):
food.
So what happens is the gut canstart slowing down because we
have not.
Adequately chewed our foodcompletely.
The getting that saliva iscrucial to starting to break
down the food, so the rest ofthe body.
So we've got the esophagus andthe stomach and the small
intestine, and then the colon.
(13:42):
Those don't have to work ashard, so.
If somebody isn't fully chewingtheir food and they're
experiencing constipation, thisis something we wanna consider.
'cause constipation can causepelvic floor tightness and
pelvic pain simply becausethere's not much space in the
pelvis.
And so this also goes back tothe diaphragm as well.
(14:05):
So if they are not breathing asefficiently, we're not getting
that kind of downward pumpingmotion through the gut.
And then on top of that, we'renot telling the nervous system
that we're safe.
So it's important that we'relooking at all of that too.
In addition, uh.
Dental health is superimportant.
You're gonna start seeing moreof this come out If somebody is
(14:26):
not brushing their teethregularly, if they are not
flossing regularly, or sometimespeople change and they use
mouthwash.
I know mouthwash can becontroversial.
Um, depending on who you talk tohave, you can have your clients
gonna do their own research, butsome people say, can.
Um, affect the microbiome.
(14:48):
I haven't dove as much intothat, but I'm just sharing you
with some information.
If you're with somebody that'sjust feeling super constipated
and you're not really sure why,I find most people that are
constipated, which is I have aton of people that are
constipated regularly and theythink it's normal.
Constipation is not normal.
Um, but what happens is we needto be sitting down and.
(15:10):
Fully chewing our food toapplesauce.
Consistency.
Hey, I'm, I don't do this allthe time, but then I notice I'm
bloated or I don't feel wellafter.
So just being aware of how allof that coexist together,
because it can be pretty massivewith your clients.
So dental, health, and thensitting down and chewing to
applesauce.
Consistency when you can.
(15:32):
Because that's gonna help withthat digestion and then water as
well.
It's gonna help everything flowmore fully.
You can do all of the gutcleanses in the world.
You can do all the differentthings, but if we're in fight or
flight when we're eating, it'sjust, it's gonna be an uphill
battle for the body to digest.
So in summary, I really hopethis helped looking at all of
these things together because.
(15:55):
It really can transform yourpractice and help your clients
get to a whole nother level.
And, and it's so cool becausethey often get really excited to
know how the body is connectedand you're teaching them.
And when you teach them thatthey feel so empowered and this
builds such strong rapport foryou and your clients.
So I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
Thank you so much for listeningto my podcast.
(16:17):
It would be a huge help if youcould subscribe and rate the
podcast.
It helps us reach more peopleand make a bigger impact.
I would also love it if youcould join my email list, which
is LinkedIn, the caption forpodcast updates, upcoming offers
and events.
You can also find me on TikTok,YouTube and Instagram at Dr.
Mary pt.
Thanks again.
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