Teeth?, Vision? affecting Posture, Neck, Body Tension and Pain? How are these all related?
Visual and dental situations can inherently affect our neck and body tension. Our brain seeks stability for demanding movements, ranging anywhere from gardening to folding laundry to competitive sports. However, over time we adapt to “not normal” situations like staring at a computer screen for work, or the floor for orientation in space. Additionally, we may clench our teeth due to stress, problems with our bite or as a way to “hold ourselves up”. Over time, how we position our teeth and use our vision can create unwanted adaptions to posture resulting in chronic tension syndromes and pain.
At Advance Physical Therapy, a Postural Restoration Certified clinic, we understand these connections. How one uses their vision and how one positions their body in space and within their environment can become problematic. For example, the need to look at the floor for stability while walking is a common adaption made to enhance a sense of where we are in space. For some this may reduce a fear of falling. However, this adaptation takes away from the ability to process visual information. Ideally our eyes should be up assessing the environment at the horizon. By looking down habitually, our brain will begin to rely on muscle tension to protect us from falling. Over time this can cause pain, often in the neck and back.
In considering our “bite”, we recognize that the sense of our teeth touching influences our weight shift and body/ground sense when upright. Our PT’s will commonly ask patients about their dental history with questions. “Have you had braces or Invisalign?” “Do you have a cross bite?” “Do you have excessive tooth crowding?” “Do you clench or grind your teeth?”
As Postural Restoration Certified PT’s and Personal Trainers, we recognize the need to call on our dental and optometry colleagues to help us change patterns in the brain and body to support pain relief. Advance Physical Therapy collaborates with a network of dentists, optometrists/neuro-optometrists, among others. Collaborative and like-minded “whole patient focus” can be the missing piece for some patients’ program on the journey to getting rid of pain for good. This whole patient approach supports the “re-wiring” of brain sense for restoration of efficient posture and movement.
Lisa Mangino, PT, DPT, PRC, C/NDT was invited to speak to a local dental study group in May 2025. Airway and Developmental Dentists, Orthodontists, Myofunctional Therapists, Orofacial Myologists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Language Pathologists made up this diverse group! Led by Dr. Julienne “Evie” Sabet, DDS (Developmental Dentistry), the group was wonderfully attentive to the concepts of PT treatment based on the science of the Postural Restoration Instituteâ (PRI).
First, Lisa described the inherent patterned human asymmetrical patterns based on organ placement, respiratory diaphragm position and function, and brain organization. Next, Lisa took the audience through a standing technique while inflating a balloon to alter the neurological right side dominant pattern of upright posture and movement. One participant served as a demonstration for clinical PT testing before and after a PRI technique. This volunteer reported an immediate relief in neck and body tension, an ease of breathing and stated she felt “unlocked and free”. While most people can sense this change, some who may be overusing their vision or their dental “bite” may not be able to. This is when we call on a practitioner in the dental community to help us. The same is true for folks who overuse their vision and our colleagues in neuro or behavioral optometry can help us there (Additional Optometry blog coming soon!)
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To sum up, if you sense that the way you use your teeth or your vision is interfering with your posture, movements or the cause of your pain, we’d be happy to evaluate this for you and incorporate interdisciplinary clinicians to help us.
