“This month, we are featuring a very special recovery story about our patient, Gina!

Gina has been a yoga instructor for the last 30 years. Working in the fitness field, naturally she understands the anatomy of the body quite well. She couldn’t however, figure out why she was having such extreme pain in her jaw.

“I had complete immobility in my jaw,” Gina shares. “I could hear cracking. I could barely open my mouth, and couldn’t eat properly, either.” Gina visited her dentist in pain. That’s when she found she was dealing with Tempero-Mandibular Dysfunction (TMD); this is when you experience pain in the joint that connects your jaw to your skull (also known as your Tempero-Mandibular Joint, or TMJ).

Gina immediately sought physical therapy treatment in hopes of becoming pain-free once again, prioritizing finding someone who specifically specialized in her condition. That’s when she met her therapist, Shaun Whited, and began treatment at our E 56th Street location. Gina admits, her first session seemed bizarre: “Suddenly I had a stranger with his fingers in my mouth, and manipulating my neck!” Her hesitation quickly dissipated—she noticed she felt notably better after just the first visit. “Shaun was warm, funny and knowledgeable,” Gina recalls. She knew she was in good hands and had full trust in his ability to get her back to life.

The rest of the SPEAR team on the floor proved to be incredibly helpful as well. “Everyone from the front desk staff to the floor team were supportive, enthusiastic, and on top of everything. They were willing to answer any questions I had and were always pleasant—they even recognized me after just the first few visits.”

By the end of her treatment duration, Gina was 100% back to her normal self, making a full recovery. Gina is now fortunately cured of her TMJ issue. “If I had another episode,” she notes, “I would look forward to coming back. If you’re considering coming to SPEAR, you can’t go wrong.”