The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a fancy word for the space between your jaw and your skull. You have two of them, one on either side of your face. The TMJ is a wonderful thing when it works correctly. It allows you to talk, eat, drink, chew, sing, laugh, yawn, and breathe through your mouth. You get the point, it does a lot. The joint itself is small but really strong. In fact, it can endure up to 250 pounds!

The War on Pain has begun! But in order to defeat this enemy, we first have to understand it. Many people simply mask pain by avoiding activity and taking increasing amounts of medication like opioids.