Discussion
Anyone a sufferer?
I haven’t officially been diagnosed but for the past 3 years or so I’ve had on and off bouts of aching jaws close to both ears. I’m currently in the midst of a flare up this time caused by eating almonds. Doesn’t give me much grief throughout the day but it’s at night when I find it difficult to sleep.
I haven’t officially been diagnosed but for the past 3 years or so I’ve had on and off bouts of aching jaws close to both ears. I’m currently in the midst of a flare up this time caused by eating almonds. Doesn’t give me much grief throughout the day but it’s at night when I find it difficult to sleep.
TMJ pain sufferer here.Have had constant headaches, neck pain, etc for several years and after a few blind alleys, my dentist confirmed there's a problem and referred me to a consultant beginning of this year.
I'm currently on both Naproxen and Nortriptyline to try and reduce the pain while we wait 6 months to see if the situation resolves itself. Pain relief is helping a bit, but not a lot and isn't a long term fix.
I'm waiting for a follow up appointment (due in Sept/Oct) and we'll see what happens then. I'm guessing they may consider botox injections to see if that helps.
Push your thumb into the 'belly' i.e. the fat bit towards your knee , of the tibialis anterior muscle. If it's tender or feels sort of 'tensed up' then guaranteed you have some kind of muscular/postural inbalance in your body. Tmd doesn't really exist, it's caused by other muscles in the kinetic chain being facilitated due to poor postural patterns. Do NOT go to your gp, he will tell you it's bruxism etc. Check you aren't chest breathing as well, usually caused by stress.
https://thrivebodybalance.com/treating-the-deep-fr...
https://thrivebodybalance.com/treating-the-deep-fr...
markcoznottz said:
Push your thumb into the 'belly' i.e. the fat bit towards your knee , of the tibialis anterior muscle. If it's tender or feels sort of 'tensed up' then guaranteed you have some kind of muscular/postural inbalance in your body. Tmd doesn't really exist, it's caused by other muscles in the kinetic chain being facilitated due to poor postural patterns. Do NOT go to your gp, he will tell you it's bruxism etc. Check you aren't chest breathing as well, usually caused by stress.
https://thrivebodybalance.com/treating-the-deep-fr...
Sorry but that's complete nonsense. TMJ problems have multiple causes, from bruxism, through stress and even arthritis in the joint to problems with the disc in the joint moving.https://thrivebodybalance.com/treating-the-deep-fr...
Posture and alignment can play a part but definitely isn't the only cause.
I've been seeing an osteopath for a couple of years to try and resolve my pain. He's made a huge difference to my posture and freeing up a very stiff neck.
He's also the person who recommended I work with a dentist to get the problem resolved
rscott said:
markcoznottz said:
Push your thumb into the 'belly' i.e. the fat bit towards your knee , of the tibialis anterior muscle. If it's tender or feels sort of 'tensed up' then guaranteed you have some kind of muscular/postural inbalance in your body. Tmd doesn't really exist, it's caused by other muscles in the kinetic chain being facilitated due to poor postural patterns. Do NOT go to your gp, he will tell you it's bruxism etc. Check you aren't chest breathing as well, usually caused by stress.
https://thrivebodybalance.com/treating-the-deep-fr...
Sorry but that's complete nonsense. TMJ problems have multiple causes, from bruxism, through stress and even arthritis in the joint to problems with the disc in the joint moving.https://thrivebodybalance.com/treating-the-deep-fr...
Posture and alignment can play a part but definitely isn't the only cause.
I've been seeing an osteopath for a couple of years to try and resolve my pain. He's made a huge difference to my posture and freeing up a very stiff neck.
He's also the person who recommended I work with a dentist to get the problem resolved
markcoznottz said:
That's what they all say! 'Go and see your dentist' What will a dentist do? Make you a mouth guard and charge you. It won't help. The scalenes, Masseter, and temporalis are facilitated because your body is dysfunctional. The root cause is always postural and or diaphragm issues. of course there are exceptions.
Always the cause, but there are exceptions - nice contradiction. I used to suffer from TMJ quite badly. It was put down to stress and I had a mouth guard made by my dentist, which didn't really help as it made me feel like I was choking, which stopped me sleeping, which made me more stressed ... It got so bad that people in another room could hear me grinding my teeth and it would also wake my wife up. In recent years I have all but stopped though and if I do start, a swift elbow in the ribs from my wife seems to stop it !
markcoznottz said:
That's what they all say! 'Go and see your dentist' What will a dentist do? Make you a mouth guard and charge you. It won't help. The scalenes, Masseter, and temporalis are facilitated because your body is dysfunctional. The root cause is always postural and or diaphragm issues. of course there are exceptions.
The pain that you’re experiencing is almost certainly myofascial pain secondary to parafunction or bruxing (excessive grinding of your teeth). The correct treatment can only be prescribed once the correct diagnosis has been made.
The causes of excessive clenching/grinding can be stress, posture and habits, teeth and bite problems and sleep apnoea/sleep disorder.
I suggest seeing a dentist that knows something about this to establish a definitive diagnosis.
In my practice I work with a team of clinicians including an ENT specialist, myotherapist and physiotherapist to diagnose and treat patients like you.
I suffered for years with TMJ and face pain from grinding and had three rounds of face Botox before swing an ENT, having surgery and no pain since.
Good luck
mojitomax said:
The pain that you’re experiencing is almost certainly myofascial pain secondary to parafunction or bruxing (excessive grinding of your teeth).
The correct treatment can only be prescribed once the correct diagnosis has been made.
The causes of excessive clenching/grinding can be stress, posture and habits, teeth and bite problems and sleep apnoea/sleep disorder.
I suggest seeing a dentist that knows something about this to establish a definitive diagnosis.
In my practice I work with a team of clinicians including an ENT specialist, myotherapist and physiotherapist to diagnose and treat patients like you.
I suffered for years with TMJ and face pain from grinding and had three rounds of face Botox before swing an ENT, having surgery and no pain since.
Good luck
Interesting you mention sleep apnoea - that's something else I've (finally!) been diagnosed with relatively recently.The correct treatment can only be prescribed once the correct diagnosis has been made.
The causes of excessive clenching/grinding can be stress, posture and habits, teeth and bite problems and sleep apnoea/sleep disorder.
I suggest seeing a dentist that knows something about this to establish a definitive diagnosis.
In my practice I work with a team of clinicians including an ENT specialist, myotherapist and physiotherapist to diagnose and treat patients like you.
I suffered for years with TMJ and face pain from grinding and had three rounds of face Botox before swing an ENT, having surgery and no pain since.
Good luck
Bruxism! A poorly understood, little researched issue that affects about 30% of the population at some point (including me). Its cause is usually multifactorial, but stress and anxiety are the biggest issues. I also see a few generations of the same families as patients, all of whom are pretty relaxed yet all still clench so I’m convinced there is a genetic link. There’s a good Wikipedia page on the subject.
Posture definitely plays a big role in it, but truth be told is beyond the remit of the average dentist. I’ve heard of insoles curing jaw pain. Other patients have found success with yoga and meditation. Invariably it tends to be episodic and usually resolves in 6 months. I also don’t see many older pts who clench so as time passes, it tends to die down.
For severe myofascial pain brought on by jaw problems, ibuprofen 200mg a few times a day, hot compresses, a soft diet and avoiding opening too wide can all help ease the symptoms
Biteguards are VERY effective at reducing symptoms, but the treating dentist needs to know his/her stuff to prescribe the correct one (£400+ for a decent one). There is a relatively new in-ear solution called Cerezen which purports to do the same but it’s too early to say how effective it is.
So much more I could add but it’s a big topic and I’d echo the thoughts of my colleague above; find a decent dentist who has a special interest in this kind of stuff. Good luck
Posture definitely plays a big role in it, but truth be told is beyond the remit of the average dentist. I’ve heard of insoles curing jaw pain. Other patients have found success with yoga and meditation. Invariably it tends to be episodic and usually resolves in 6 months. I also don’t see many older pts who clench so as time passes, it tends to die down.
For severe myofascial pain brought on by jaw problems, ibuprofen 200mg a few times a day, hot compresses, a soft diet and avoiding opening too wide can all help ease the symptoms
Biteguards are VERY effective at reducing symptoms, but the treating dentist needs to know his/her stuff to prescribe the correct one (£400+ for a decent one). There is a relatively new in-ear solution called Cerezen which purports to do the same but it’s too early to say how effective it is.
So much more I could add but it’s a big topic and I’d echo the thoughts of my colleague above; find a decent dentist who has a special interest in this kind of stuff. Good luck
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