The TMJ, temporomandibular joint, is the joint connecting the cranium to the mandible. The cranium houses your upper row of teeth and the mandible houses your lower row of teeth. There are muscles that close the jaw and muscles that open them. Sometimes they are strained from car accidents, trauma to the face, or dental work. The TMJ has a significant connection to the function of the upper cervical spine and the pelvis. There has also been information presented and demonstrated by Dr. Walter Schmitt, one of the great innovators and teachers of Applied Kinesiology, that links the TMJ to the immune system. Applied Kinesiologists are big TMJ geeks. They recognize and routinely observe that a TMJ functional problem can cause or create pain and dysfunction throughout the body. This can be demonstrated with muscle testing, having the patient open their jaw, bite down, shift the jaw, or simply contacting different parts of the jaw. Once the TMJ problems are revealed they can be corrected.