Have you ever found yourself snapping at someone simply because you were already in pain or uncomfortable or having a bad day? They didn’t do anything serious, but you over-reacted because you were already at your limit. Maybe your day was going terribly wrong, or you were in pain and unable to deal with it, or in a foul mood because of something else entirely, and now this person says one little thing and you totally loose it on them!
We can easily understand this phenomenon since almost all of us have done this at least once in our lives. But imaging being there ALL the time. If you were having a constantly recurring bad day, or you were constantly in pain, every little thing would likely set you off. These little things are called triggers, and if you weren’t already in a distressing position, you would likely not react. But when you are constantly on edge, at your limit, there is nothing left and you spin out.
Your body, your muscles are the same. If everything in your body, in your jaw, in your head, is in the right place (physiologically), then your muscles have low activity, as in they are at “rest”. But when you constantly trigger them, and reach their limit, every little tiny thing can trigger them, resulting in severe recurring pain, like constant headaches, migraines, and jaw pain. It is well known that brain wave activity can be measured, and the higher frequency is associated with anxiety and fear, whereas the lower frequency is associated with relaxation, sleep, rest, and healing.
Well, your facial muscles are the same. People who are in “overload” in their muscles, will have triggers that set off their migraines or other types of pain. If the muscles were quiet, a trigger wouldn’t set them off. Measuring muscle activity of the face, head, and neck can give us tons of insight into what’s causing your pain. There are various ways to measure this activity and we use this frequently when diagnosing, treating, and solving common chronic pain such as headaches, migraines and jaw pain.