TMJ Help Program

Headaches associated with TMJ can be attributed to a variety of reasons. Most of these reasons unfortunately, do not respond to traditional pain medications. This article discusses the various TMJ-related causes of headaches and how to deal with them if they occur.

TMJ associated headaches are characterized by the severity of their pain. They can be so painful that they might keep you up at night and they also occur rather frequently. The first step in curing these headaches is understanding what causes them

The temporomandibular joint is the joint that moves your lower jaw to talk, eat and so on. It is liable to arthritis just like any other joint and this inflammatory condition can cause they surrounding muscles to be in a continuous state of spasm. This spasm will then result in pain radiating to the surrounding areas because of the constant state of tension. As a result, a TMJ patient can end up experiencing pain in the face, the neck, the shoulders, the back and of course, the dreaded dull aching headaches.

Another possible mechanism causing TMJ related headaches is by the pressure exerted on the nerves nearby the jaw joint and the ears as a result of the inflammatory process affecting the joint. Pain will then shoot up straight into you head causing excruciating headaches. These types can be trickier to cure, since the pain is nerve-related and not simply due to muscle tension.

Over the counter anti-inflammatory medications can work well but they can only relieve pain for so long before they are rendered ineffective by your chronic condition. Instead, here’s a quick home remedy for pain relief:

Fill up a plastic cup a with a small amount of water and then freeze it. Rub it in slow circular movements around your affected join area to relieve your pain. In addition, it’s advisable to perform regular jaw exercises for positive long term effects.