If you’ve been dealing with jaw pain, jaw clicking, or tightness around your temples - and you also get regular headaches - there’s a chance the two may be connected.
Your jaw joint (called the temporomandibular joint or TMJ) plays a big role in everyday movement - from eating and talking to yawning and even breathing. What many people don’t realise is that the TMJ is closely linked to the neck, head, and surrounding muscles, which is why discomfort in one area often shows up as symptoms in another. Today, we’re breaking down the connection between headaches and TMJ pain, signs to look out for, and how your physiotherapist can help.
Understanding the TMJ (and why it matters)
You have two TMJs - one on each side of your face - where the lower jaw meets the skull, just in front of your ears. Each joint has a small disc that helps the jaw move smoothly as you open and close your mouth.
Surrounding the joint are a group of strong muscles: the masseter (cheek muscle), temporalis (temple muscle), and smaller internal muscles, such as the pterygoids. These muscles don’t work alone. They’re part of a complex system that includes the neck, shoulders, and even your posture.
When everything is balanced, the system is almost silent. You chew comfortably, speak easily, and don’t even think about it. But when tension, posture, or movement patterns change - whether that’s from clenching, stress, or poor neck control - the balance between these muscles and joints shifts. That’s when pain, clicking, and headaches can begin.
How The Jaw And Headaches Are Connected
1. Shared nerve pathways
The jaw and upper neck share the same nerve network (called the trigeminal–cervical complex). This means the brain processes input from the jaw, face, and neck through a similar pathway. When muscles or joints in the jaw become irritated, that signal can be interpreted as pain in the head, particularly around the temples, forehead, or behind the eyes. That’s why jaw problems often feel like “just another headache,” even though the source is mechanical, not neurological.
2. Tight jaw and temple muscles
The muscles that help you chew are some of the strongest in the body. When you clench your teeth, grind at night, or hold tension in your jaw, those muscles tighten and fatigue. Over time, they develop trigger points that refer pain up into the head - most often creating a dull, aching headache around the temples or sides of the face.
People often describe it as “a band of tightness” or a “pressure headache” that doesn’t fully go away, especially after long days of talking, stress, or concentration.
3. Neck posture and head position
Modern life isn’t kind to our posture. Hours spent leaning forward over laptops or phones put the neck into a “chin-forward” position. This posture subtly pushes the lower jaw backwards in its socket, which increases compression inside the TMJ.
As the jaw joint becomes overloaded, muscles at the base of the skull and neck tighten to keep the head upright. This combination - joint compression, muscle tension, and altered head position - is a perfect recipe for both jaw pain and headaches.
4. Stress and breathing patterns
Stress causes more than just mental strain - it also affects how your body moves and holds tension. Many people unconsciously clench or grind their teeth (known as bruxism) when under pressure. Others breathe shallowly through the mouth, keeping the jaw slightly open and muscles active all day.
This constant low-level activation fatigues the jaw, neck, and shoulders, creating tightness that builds into headaches over time.
Cervicogenic Headaches: When It Starts In The Neck
Sometimes, the headache doesn’t begin in the jaw at all - it starts in the neck and radiates upwards. These are called cervicogenic headaches (literally “neck-generated headaches”). They often begin at the base of the skull or upper neck and travel to one side of the head or behind the eye. Turning or tilting your head can make the pain worse, and pressing on certain neck muscles may reproduce the headache almost exactly.
Because the upper neck and TMJ are closely connected through shared nerves and muscle chains, neck problems can exacerbate jaw symptoms, and jaw tension can intensify neck-related headaches. It’s a two-way street.
Common Signs Your Jaw And Headaches Are Linked
You might notice one or more of the following:
- Clicking or popping in the jaw when opening or chewing
- Pain when eating, yawning, or talking for long periods
- Tightness or aching around the temples or behind the eyes
- Morning headaches or jaw fatigue after sleep
- Pain or stiffness at the base of the skull or sides of the neck
- Ear fullness or pressure with no clear ear problem
These symptoms don’t always occur together, but when they do, they indicate a connection between the jaw and neck that physiotherapy can help address.
Why Quick Fixes Don’t Last
It’s common for people to try simple neck stretches, take pain medication, or use a mouthguard without seeing lasting results. That’s because the TMJ rarely works in isolation. If only one part of the system is treated - for example, the joint but not the neck muscles, or the posture but not the jaw control - symptoms will persist or return.
Lasting improvement comes from identifying the root cause: is it muscle overactivity, joint irritation, postural overload, stress-driven tension, or something else? Once that’s clear, treatment can target the right problem. This is where your physiotherapist comes in.
How Physiotherapy Helps
Physiotherapy can play a significant role in helping TMJ-related headaches because your physiotherapist will assess the entire jaw, neck, and shoulder system, not just the painful spot. We start by discussing your symptoms and daily habits - things like clenching, chewing, posture, and stress levels. We’ll then assess:
- Jaw movement (range, symmetry, clicking)
- Muscle tone around the jaw, temples, and neck
- Posture and upper back alignment
- Neck mobility and strength
- Breathing patterns
Treatment is individualised, but often includes:
- Manual therapy to release tight jaw and neck muscles and reduce joint pressure
- Gentle mobilisation of the TMJ or upper neck joints to restore alignment
- Breathing retraining to reduce tension and promote relaxation
- Exercises to restore normal jaw control and neck stability
- Education on posture, clenching awareness, and ergonomic adjustments
You’ll also learn how to rest the jaw properly (lips closed, teeth slightly apart, tongue resting on the roof of the mouth) - a small change that makes a big difference over time.
If you’re experiencing headaches and TMJ pain, try to avoid:
- Long desk stints with chin poked forward
- Stressful workdays (silent clenching while concentrating)
- Chewy foods, large bites, hard crusts
- High weekly gum use or biting nails/pen tops
- Mouth breathing, snoring, and poor sleep
- Poorly fitted dental appliances or old dental work altering your bite (worth checking with a dentist)
Instead, try these helpful daily habits:
- Keep teeth slightly apart at rest (lips together, tongue resting on the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth).
- Breathe through your nose when possible; practise slower belly-based breaths to settle overall muscle tone.
- Take regular posture breaks: reset your ribcage over pelvis, gently lengthen the back of your neck (double-chin nod), soften your jaw.
- Reduce repetitive jaw loading (limit gum; cut tougher foods into smaller bites).