How can bruxism cause headaches? Bruxism causes morning, tension, and migraine headaches via jaw muscle fatigue and trigeminal sensitization. Learn the types, triggers, and relief options.
Written by Ann C. McCulloch, MBA | Medically Reviewed by Bradley Allen Eli, DMD, MS
Yes, TMJ disorders (TMD) can cause neck pain — and the reverse is also true. Research shows a strong, bidirectional relationship between the two: people with TMD are significantly more likely to have neck pain than people without it, and vice versa. Because the jaw and neck function as one connected system, treating just one in isolation often leaves the other unresolved.
The link between TMD and neck pain isn’t a minor or occasional overlap — it’s one of the more consistent associations in orofacial pain research. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that people with neck pain had more than three times the odds of also having a temporomandibular disorder compared to people without neck pain. The same review found that people with neck pain showed reduced jaw mobility and lower pain thresholds in the masseter and temporalis muscles — meaning the jaw muscles themselves become more sensitive when the neck is involved, not just tender by coincidence. The same review also found that myofascial trigger points and pain on palpation of the jaw muscles or TMJ were reported more frequently in people with neck pain than in those without it — further evidence that the two regions are functionally linked rather than coincidentally overlapping.
Several anatomical and neurological factors explain why TMJ dysfunction and neck pain travel together:
“There is increasing evidence that the sensory and motor systems of the jaw and neck are closely interconnected. When pain develops in one region, it can alter muscle function and increase pain sensitivity in the other, making it important to evaluate and treat both together,” explains Bradley Eli, DMD, MS, an orofacial pain specialist.
This is the core reason a jaw-only or neck-only treatment plan often falls short: if the jaw component is addressed but cervical mechanics are never restored, the postural and muscular drivers of TMJ tension are still in place — and the reverse is just as true. Physical therapy exercises aimed at cervical mechanics and posture can address the neck side of the equation, while jaw rest and heat or cold therapy help manage acute symptoms on the jaw side. For a broader flare-up involving both regions, the Speed2Treat® Home Healing Kit — which includes the QuickSplint® anterior bite guard, a hot/cold therapy wrap, and guided jaw exercises — combines several of these early-stage tools into one 4-week plan, rather than treating the jaw and neck as two separate problems.
It’s a genuine, well-documented association rather than coincidence. People with neck pain have more than three times the odds of also having a temporomandibular disorder, and the relationship works in both directions.
The jaw and neck share muscle groups and nerve pathways, including a convergence point in the brainstem where nerve signals from the neck and the jaw overlap. This shared wiring means pain or dysfunction in one area can be felt in, or contribute to, the other.
Neither in isolation tends to work as well as treating both together. Because the two regions influence each other, addressing only the jaw or only the neck often leaves part of the problem unresolved.
Yes. Forward head posture places extra strain on the muscles connecting the skull, jaw, and neck, which can alter jaw position and increase muscle tension in the jaw itself.
Very common. People with neck pain have more than three times the odds of also having a temporomandibular disorder, and jaw muscle tenderness and trigger points are reported significantly more often in people who also have neck pain.
Typically, it combines jaw-focused care, such as an anterior bite guard and jaw rest, with neck-focused care, such as posture correction and cervical physical therapy, rather than addressing either region alone.
