Can TMJ cause neck pain?

Your neck has been stiff for weeks, and lately your jaw aches too, or gets tired halfway through a meal. Maybe a dentist has mentioned TMJ and you are wondering whether the neck pain belongs to the same picture. That pairing is very common, and plenty of people deal with both at once.

As a physiotherapist, I treat the jaw and the neck as one working unit. Below I go through what research says about the connection and about posture, and whether treating your neck can take pressure off your jaw.

In short

TMJ disorders and neck pain are closely linked and probably influence each other. People with neck pain have more than three times the odds of a TMJ disorder (Bizzarri et al., 2025), and a genetic study suggests the link runs both ways (Du et al., 2025). That does not prove your jaw alone is causing your neck pain.

• People with TMD often have a stiffer, more pressure-sensitive neck, while poor posture has not been shown to cause TMD.
• For muscle-related TMD, physiotherapy aimed at the neck can ease jaw pain in the short term.
• Chest pain spreading to your neck or jaw, or a stiff neck with sensitivity to light, needs emergency help.

Are jaw and neck pain really connected?

The connection shows up from both sides. A Spanish meta-analysis of 32 observational studies found a clinically relevant link between jaw-related and neck-related disability in people with TMD. With moderate certainty, their necks were also more pressure-sensitive and less mobile than in people without jaw problems (Cuenca-Martínez et al., 2020).

Starting from the neck, a 2025 review of nine studies found that adults with neck pain had higher odds of TMD than pain-free controls (odds ratio 3.64), opened their mouths about six millimetres less when the jaw was assisted open, and had more tender chewing muscles (Bizzarri et al., 2025). Certainty was very low, mainly because every study was a snapshot in time and other factors were not fully controlled, and the authors recommend assessing jaw and neck together.

How long the jaw has hurt seems to matter. In a Canadian study of 487 adults with painful TMD, half of those whose jaw pain had lasted more than three months reported neck pain, against about a third of those with newer pain. After adjusting for age, sex, anxiety and depression, chronic TMD still came with roughly twice the odds of neck pain (Botros et al., 2022). The US National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research lists pain that spreads to the face or neck as one of the symptoms that can point to TMD (NIDCR, 2026).

Why can a jaw problem be felt in your neck?

The answer sits in your brainstem. Pain signals from your face travel along the trigeminal nerve, and those from the upper neck along the first three cervical nerves (C1 to C3). Both meet in the same nucleus, a set-up called trigeminocervical convergence. A 2022 review describes this referral as working in both directions, so pain from the teeth, jaw or jaw joint can be felt in the neck, and pain from the upper neck can show up in the forehead, cheek, jaw joint or ear (Šedý et al., 2022). When the nerve cells in this relay become more sensitive, pain spreads and gets referred to other places (Bartsch & Goadsby, 2003). The Canadian team sees this shared wiring as one possible reason why neck pain, and not back pain, is more common with long-lasting TMD (Botros et al., 2022).

A Chinese team analysed large public genetic datasets and found a link in both directions between TMD and neck or shoulder pain, even after accounting for anxiety, body weight and sleep problems (Du et al., 2025). That hints at cause and effect without proving it. In practice, it means I always check the neck when someone comes in with jaw pain, and the jaw when someone comes in with neck pain.

Is your posture to blame?

Desk posture often gets the blame, yet a Canadian review of 12 studies called the link between head and neck posture and TMD unclear and found most studies were of poor quality (Olivo et al., 2006), and a Brazilian review of 17 studies called it controversial in 2013 (Rocha et al., 2013). The Spanish meta-analysis found no difference in head or neck position between people with and without TMD, pointing to the nervous system rather than mechanics (Cuenca-Martínez et al., 2020).

So the research has not shown that posture is the main cause of TMD, although the question is not settled. The NHS still advises against holding your neck in one position for long, for example at a desk (NHS neck pain page).

Try it: the jaw and neck check

I like to show this check early on in physiotherapy, because it lets you feel how closely your jaw and neck work together. Sit upright in a chair.

1. Rest the fingertips of one hand on the chewing muscle on your cheek, between your cheekbone and the angle of your jaw, and place the other hand at the back of your neck just below your skull.
2. Bite your back teeth together gently for a few seconds and notice whether the muscles at the back of your neck tighten as well.
3. Open your mouth slowly as wide as feels comfortable and remember how far you got.
4. Push your chin forward, as if leaning in towards a screen, and open your mouth again.
5. Gently draw your chin back so the back of your head feels long, and open a third time.
6. Finally, press gently into the muscles at the base of your skull and notice whether the pressure travels into your temple, face or jaw.

Note what changes at each step. Small changes are normal and do not mean something is wrong, but your notes are useful if you get your jaw and neck assessed. The check is not a diagnosis. Stop if anything feels sharp.

Does treating the neck help the jaw?

For muscle-related jaw pain, a US meta-analysis of seven randomised trials found that adults with muscle-related TMD who received neck treatment had less pain and less tender chewing muscles in the short term, especially with manual therapy to the upper neck, alone or plus neck exercises (Bednarczyk et al., 2024). How long this lasts is unknown.

A Chinese review of 14 trials with 825 people found similar gains in pain and tenderness, and mouth opening only improved when manual therapy and neck exercises were combined (Qu et al., 2025). A third review of 37 studies called manual therapy to the neck, or to neck and jaw, promising, though most studies had a high risk of bias (Pelai et al., 2026).

In the moment

Let your jaw rest with lips closed, teeth slightly apart and tongue on the roof of your mouth. The NHS advises keeping your teeth apart except when eating, using an ice or heat pack wrapped in a tea towel, keeping your neck moving instead of wearing a collar, and sleeping on a low, firm pillow (NHS TMD and neck pain pages).

Long term

I often give people this short routine for jaw and neck. It complements manual therapy rather than replacing it:

• Chin tucks: sitting tall, draw your chin gently back until the back of your head feels long, hold for five seconds and repeat ten times.
• Head turns: with a loose jaw, turn your head slowly left and right as far as is comfortable.
• Controlled opening: keep the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and open and close slowly ten times.
• Jaw muscle massage: small fingertip circles over the chewing muscle on your cheek, between your cheekbone and the angle of your jaw, about a minute per side.

If you clench or grind, see our page on teeth grinding, and find more on our TMJ exercises page.

How JawBuddy helps

JawBuddy is a digital companion for guided jaw exercises and self-management.

JawBuddy Therapy builds your personal plan with a therapeutic algorithm based on your symptoms and medical history, and it includes a daily tooth contact check.

When should you see a doctor?

Call 999 (911 in the US) straight away if you have chest pain that spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, and do not drive yourself to hospital (NHS heart attack page).

Call 999 or go to A&E if you have a stiff neck and cannot look at bright lights, a very painful headache, a very high or very low temperature, confusion or a rash that does not fade when you press it (NHS meningitis page).

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111 if after a neck injury you have severe pain despite painkillers, tingling on one or both sides of your body, trouble walking or sitting upright, weak hands, arms or legs, or a sudden electric-shock feeling in your neck and back (NHS whiplash page). The same applies if you cannot eat or drink because of your jaw, your jaw locks, your scalp is painful or tender, or you have double vision or vision loss (NHS TMD page). A swollen face or jaw with a high temperature can mean a dental abscess and needs an urgent dentist appointment or NHS 111 (NHS dental abscess page).

See a GP if neck pain has not gone after a few weeks, painkillers are not helping, or it comes with pins and needles or a cold arm (NHS neck pain page). After whiplash, get your jaw checked too, since a Swedish meta-analysis found TMD pain in about 19 per cent of people in the acute stage after whiplash and about 27 per cent of people more than three months after it, against about 6 per cent of people who had never had whiplash (Häggman-Henrikson et al., 2025).

Our jaw pain page helps you sort out the jaw side, and if headaches are part of the mix, read can TMJ cause headaches?

Your jaw and neck can get better together

A sore jaw and a stiff neck at the same time wear you down. The close link between them has an upside, because it gives you two places to work on. Run through the check this week and take your notes to your next dentist or physiotherapy appointment.

For the full picture of the condition, read our TMJ disorder guide.