TMJ, Head and Neck Pain Specialist - I help people in pain rewrite their story using my Physioloops Signature Process.
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04/01/2026
Neck pain or poor posture? Build your neck strength!
You might not know that neck pain often comes from poor control—this progression builds on that by strengthening the muscles that support your head.
💡 What’s happening?
Your deep neck flexors, SCM, and spinal muscles work together to control head position.
If they’re weak, your head drifts forward — increasing strain and pain.
🔥 Why this matters
Without strength and control, your neck compensates with overuse.
Building strength through progression helps reduce that strain and improve posture.
🛠️ Exercises to build neck control
1.) Chin tuck
Pull your chin straight back, then relax. This targets the deep neck stabilizers.
2.) Chin tuck + band
Add resistance with a band to strengthen these muscles further.
3.) Chin tuck + rotation
Maintain the tuck and rotate side to side to train control in a new plane.
4.) Band + rotation
Add resistance while rotating to fully challenge strength and stability.
Building strength and control in these muscles helps improve posture and reduce neck pain.
injuryprevention movement
04/01/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
If I told you your pain might not be from an injury… would you believe me?
Try this:
• If your pain is only on one side of your body, focus on the other side.
• If it’s on both sides, shift your attention to an area that usually feels fine.
Now… sit with that part of your body.
What do you notice? Pressure? Warmth? Tingling? Even pain?
Do this for just 5 minutes. You might start noticing sensations you’ve never fully processed before.
That’s the power of awareness—and it’s a huge piece of chronic pain.
Sometimes, it’s not about what’s ‘broken’… it’s about what your brain has been wired to protect and has been taught to focus on!
Now I’d love to hear from you—did this shift anything for you?
Do you believe your thinking plays a role in your pain?
Drop your experience or thoughts below—this is where real change starts.
04/01/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
Do you experience daily dizziness, and you have stiffness or pain in your neck?
Have you also been to all sorts of doctors and they tell you the tests are negative and you don’t have a vestibular issue?
Well, there are three parts to the vestibular system, which includes vision, inner ear and proprioception. Proprioception means there are receptors in your tissues that tell you where your body part is moving in space. When this information is erroneous, due to restrictions in conversations, it sends miss information to the brain causes dizziness.
Very commonly, we find that the neck is a large part of dizziness issues, especially with all the traditional vestibular treatments or tests by your ENT neurologist and other doctors come back negative.
Typically this feels like persistent, ongoing discomfort versus big, dizzy events, that the debilitate your day. Instead, it’s just an ongoing discomfort, that impacts quality of life.
In this video, I explain that and then demonstrate two strategies to begin the recovery process .
03/31/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
Do you experience a toothache that just won’t go away? You’ve been to the dentist but they say everything‘s fine? Well, there are other reasons you may be experiencing pain, and in this video I highlight three of the more common ones.
Way #1 is that the masseter or temporalis muscles can refer pain to the teeth while they are in spasm.
Way #2 is that the TMJ itself can be inflamed, which refers pain to the teeth and tip off here for you is if you also have jaw issues, it increase the likelihood the jaw is actually the cause.
And way #3 is if you’re known to clench and grind your teeth, you can create sensitivity and general irritation.
In this video, I also show three solutions for each of the causes. Remember, we always want to identify the root cause of our problem so we can get long-term relief and live at 100% function.
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03/31/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
Did you know that sleep breathing disorders (SBD) or compromised airways can produce headaches, especially in the morning?
There are several reasons for this the first being that when you cannot get enough oxygen in, it produces a headache. Also, the position of being a mouth breather in an attempt to pull more air in compresses and length structures that produce headaches.
Another sign of a sleep, breathing disorder is that you would be tired even if you get a full night sleep.
In this video, I highlight 10 very common signs of a sleep, breathing disorder along with several strategies you can get started with to reduce the impact of it on your body.
03/31/2026
Headaches during exercise? You might be skipping steps!
Comment “QUIZ” and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
If workouts trigger headaches, it’s not that you can’t exercise—it’s that your body isn’t ready for the level you’re doing.
💡 What’s happening?
Neck muscles, nerves, and blood vessels at the base of the skull get overloaded when exercises are too advanced.
This is more common if you’re already prone to headaches or have neck sensitivity.
🔥 Why this matters
If you skip foundational control, your neck overcompensates, triggering headaches.
You need to rebuild using the same progression you learned as a baby.
🛠️ Exercises to follow the progression
1.) Mobility
Gently turn your head side to side while lying down to build control without gravity.
2.) Stability
Lift your chest and hold a chin tuck (straight, then 45°). Build strength in different positions.
3.) Controlled mobility
Rock side to side and forward/back while maintaining posture and control.
4.) Skill
Add arm and leg movement while keeping your core tight and neck stable.
Following this progression helps you build tolerance so you can exercise without triggering headaches. Give it a try, and take the Root Cause Quiz to dive deeper!
03/31/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
Do you experience tension headaches during the day that make it difficult to focus on anything? Maybe it feels like you need to take a nap because of brain fog?
This is a simple massage technique that you can do anywhere, anytime to get relief and seconds.
The three muscles shown in this video, the temporalis, procerus and frontalis all work throughout the day to produce facial expressions, chewing and to move your face for function. Over time, they can build tension in them, producing pain signals to the brain, which then produces not only facial pain but tension headaches.
In this video, I show three simple releases. You can do them for about two minutes each when you feel a headache coming on or if it’s already begun!
Give them a shot!
03/31/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
Did you know that your brain can actually create inflammation in painful areas?
Sure, we all know that when you injure your body inflammation kicks in, but what you have to understand that by the brain sending signals down to the injury site it can actually produce inflammation on its own.
You see nerves work two ways they can go towards the body or towards the brain. When we injure ourselves physically, the immune system activates, inflammation kicks in, and cytokines are released, which make nerve ending sensitive. Next, it sends a danger message to the brain and the brain decides to produce pain in that area. That’s what you experience.
However, even once the injury heals and inflammation is gone, if your brain still keep sending those pain signals because of the neuroplasty is disrupted, they can reactivate the immune system releasing cytokines, and then your body sends dangerous messes up to the brain, and it reinforces the fact that the brain believes there is injury in that area!
This is all in the complete absence of any physical injury anymore.
This creates a chronic pain loop but thankfully with neuroplastic retraining, you can rewire this process and get back to feeling like yourself even if you’ve been in this loop for six months or six years!
03/30/2026
Neck or shoulder blade pain? It might not be your spine!
If you’ve been focusing on your neck but the pain keeps coming back, the issue could actually be coming from your shoulder blade.
💡 What’s happening?
Your shoulder blade moves up and down as you lift your arm.
If the upper trap gets tight, it can pull the shoulder blade out of position — creating imbalance and stress through the neck and upper back.
🔥 Why this matters
When one muscle is tight, the opposite becomes weak and overworked.
That imbalance can lead to pain at the shoulder blade and up into the neck.
🛠 Exercise to restore balance
1.) Band pull-apart
Pull a band apart and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
This strengthens the muscles that stabilize the shoulder blade.
2.) Hold + move
Hold the band pulled apart and gently move your neck or arms.
This helps retrain movement in a better position.
3.) Check your response
Notice if your pain improves while holding the band.
If it does, this imbalance is likely your issue!
Strengthening the right muscles helps restore position, reduce tension, and take pressure off the neck and shoulder blade.
03/30/2026
Jaw pain? Strengthen your core!
Your core plays a huge role in neck and jaw tension—this builds on that by strengthening it directly.
💡 What’s happening?
When your core is weak, your body compensates up the chain — overworking the neck and pulling on the jaw. So, a stronger core means less tension where you feel pain.
🔥 Why this matters
If your core can’t stabilize you, your neck and jaw have to compensate, leading to back posture and compression of the neck and jaw area. That’s what leads to tightness and recurring pain.
🛠️ Exercises to build core control
1.) Reverse crunch
With legs on a yoga ball, bring your knees to your chest. Keep your core tight and don’t arch your back.
2.) Bicycles
Alternate legs through full range, bringing knees in. Stay controlled and keep your core engaged.
3.) Pikes
Keep your legs straight and roll the ball toward your hands, lifting your hips up into a pike. Control the movement and keep your core tight.
Core strength is directly tied to reducing jaw tension and improving how everything above it functions.
03/30/2026
Comment the word ‘QUIZ’ below and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
Do you experience stifness or pain on one side of your neck? Maybe it moves down to the top of the shoulder, shoulder blade or arm?
Have you also been stretching that tight muscle by pulling in the opposite direction? Maybe you’ve been tight to stretch the upper trapezius or scalene muscles. This is a very common mistake because while of course there are times when the muscle itself is tight from overuse… Most of the time when the pain has been around for a week or longer there is some type of involvement from the spine. Think about the materials of your spine like a tube of toothpaste if you squeeze it from one side, it puts pressure out to the other so when you stretch your neck to the opposite direction, the pressure forces tissue towards the painful side which can irritate nerves.
In this video, I show a way to stretch towards the pain for side to get relief. Well, this will not work for everyone because it depends on exactly what’s going on….
I believe the majority of the people suffering out there will benefit from this.
Give it a try and if it’s helpful, do this movement throughout the day until the pain resolves and then stop doing it.
03/30/2026
Jaw pain? Your weak CORE might be the problem!
Comment “QUIZ” and I’ll send you my Root Cause Quiz!
If you’ve been focusing only on your jaw or neck, you might be missing the real driver—a weak core.
💡 What’s happening?
Your core controls your spine and posture. When it’s weak, your body compensates upward — creating tension in the neck and pulling on the jaw.
It’s also connected neurologically and through fascia, meaning poor core control can directly increase neck and jaw tension.
🔥 Why this matters
A weak core = poor force transfer and more compensation.
That overloads the neck muscles, leading to tightness, dysfunction, and jaw pain.
🛠️ Exercise progression to strengthen your core:
1.) From Elbows
1️⃣ Plank
2️⃣ Side Plank
3️⃣ Extensions
2.) From Hands
1️⃣ Plank
2️⃣ Side Plank
3️⃣ Extensions
👉 Hold these planks for a minimum of 10 seconds, or as long as you can up to a minute with control.
Make sure you are keeping your abdominals tight so that the spine doesn’t bend.
Building core strength helps reduce compensation, improve posture, and take pressure off your neck and jaw. Give it a try!
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Being a very active person, Dr. Joseph Damiani is always encountering some new injury, ache or pain threatening his lifestyle. However, his unwillingness to compromise his INDEPENDENCE and doing the things he loves has allowed him to learn first hand how to effectively rehabilitate injuries and keep going!
As Joe is now in his mid-30s, he has learned that it's true what they say, you're not invincible forever. Also, he sees in his patients, family and friends who are in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and older that the road does not get any easier, however the DIFFERENCE between those who give up their independence and those who continue doing all the things they love is access to THE RIGHT INFORMATION AND CARE.
Joe's passion is to build a physical therapy clinic and system that will allow active adults to continue the activities they love for their entire life. He is motivated to deliver this to not only his patients but to himself. Selfishly, he realized that if he can deliver a product to patients that will keep them MOBILE, ACTIVE, INDEPENDENT and doing the THINGS THEY LOVE then he can use that same product on himself to continue to live the life he is building, pain and injury-free.
Joe opened Skyline Physical Therapy located in Wyckoff, New Jersey because it was his only option. As previously mentioned, Joe's vision was to build a facility which allows each patient to attain the life they truly deserve. In order to accomplish this, he could NOT PARTICIPATE in the existing physical therapy model. In the existing model, patients receive merely 15 minutes of the physical therapist’s attention before being handed off to someone else. The physical therapists are handcuffed by the high volume of patients and the patients are the ones making all the sacrifice…
At Skyline Physical Therapy in Wyckoff, New Jersey, every patient receives one-on-one focused treatment during each visit. This system gives the physical therapist a clear comprehension of what each of their patients requires to recover. The ONE-ON-ONE PATIENT CENTERED approach used at Skyline allows the therapist the necessary time to identify the root cause of the patients pain and develop the proper plan of care to restore independence. This system affords the therapist the time to be PERSISTENT and continuously modify the plan, MAXIMIZING RESULTS. Specialized treatment at our clinic will give you back pain relief, neck pain relief, TMJ pain relief, knee pain relief, shoulder pain relief and more!
The therapist also focuses on educating the patient thoroughly about the state of dysfunction in their body and how we can reverse it. When the patient is not here at our clinic for treatment, they can stay in close communication with their therapist via phone, video calls or email. Every person should be walking longer, sleeping better, driving a ball farther, enjoying playing with your grandkids or simply living pain-free. The body has so much more potential (AT EVERY AGE) than many will ever realize. What most people consider the norm, is actually a state of dysfunction. Every year that goes by living in this state of dysfunction is another year of missed opportunity to live life to the fullest.
Joseph earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science from Manhattan College in 2006 and went on to receive a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Miami in 2010. Dr. Damiani is a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Prior to opening Skyline Physical Therapy, Joseph’s clinical experience with patients includes his time at two of the Nation's Top Hospitals as Ranked by US News and World Report. The first being the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan where he was exposed to spine and orthopedic injuries in patients ranging from professional athletes to active adults. The second being Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles, where his specialty was joint and spine rehabilitation.
If you would like to know how Skyline Physical Therapy can help you live with less pain and get back to feeling great again - we invite you to start with a completely free DISCOVERY SESSION in our Wyckoff, New Jersey Clinic. It is a no-obligation, risk free appointment at our clinic.
