TMJ or TMD, short for temporomandibular joint disorder, is a condition which involves the jaw joint. It result in pain and discomfort as well as other symptoms. Its effect are not limited to the joint but can also extend to involve surrounding regions such as the head, shoulder, neck , back and even the arms. There are more people suffering from this condition than you think and they are all on the hunt for a cure to end their pain. Read the rest of this entry »
Pain in the jaw joint, known as TMJ, is caused by constant grinding of teeth due to a stressful lifestyle. Its symptoms are a great many but usually include; painful movement of the jaw, clicking sounds, headaches and/or migraines. Symptoms are usually the worst during night. This is because of a the unconscious acts of grinding teeth and jaw clenching that occur during sleep and may result in sleep disturbances. An example is Bruxism, which is the clenching of the jaws during sleep. This affects the muscles of the jaw by forcing them into a state of tension all through the night. The result is the symptoms of TMJ presenting later on. Read the rest of this entry »
For patients of TMJ, there a variety of treatments that can be pursued to relieve symptoms such as pain. Some people prefer natural methods to medications however. For those types of patients, lifestyle modifications are always better than drugs or invasive procedures.
There are two main aspects of your lifestyle you’ll need to modify in order to treat TMJ. These are diet and jaw exercises. Dietary modification for the treatment is not widely practiced by physicians but changing a few things here and there in your diet can prove to be greatly beneficial.
The most important thing you have to look at when choosing your food is its consistency. The jaw, especially if in a fragile and damaged state, should not be overworked. Excessive straining on hard or chewy foods will result in the symptoms becoming even worse. That is why soft foods that require less effort to bite and chew are always preferable.
As for jaw exercises, these are simple and can be done in the comfort of your own home, in front of your mirror. They aim to relieve the tension and spasm in the jaw muscles thus helping to correct the jaw alignment. These should be observed regularly to produce tangible results.
Never neglect to consult your physician regarding your condition. Keep in mind that not all TMJ patients are the same and some conditions are more grave than others, therefore requiring a different type of treatment to alleviate the symptoms and prevent their recurrence.
I was tweeting back and forth with a TMJ sufferer on Twitter today (you can follow me here @tmjhelp) about TMJ treatments. I was explaining this person that I do not believe in prescribed medication for TMJ. I do believe that drugs can ease the pain for a while, but drugs will not cure your TMJ!
This person was telling me he had been on medication for a few years but it didn’t change anything and didn’t improve his TMJ.
After exchanging a few tweets, this user asked me what I thought was best. At this point, I told him that I wrote a TMJ ebook with TMJ exercises. He was really excited about my exercises. I gave him a couple exercises to practice and after a while, he asked me where he could get a copy of my ebook.
So I directed him to www.TMJ-Help.org so he can buy his own copy of the TMJ Help Program. He obviously checked out the site and got back to me a little later saying: “Not into a $49 ebook… I much prefer a $0 prescription”
I replied that it was fine. I didn’t even try to convince this person. It is so sad that some people still think that drugs will make them feel better. I don’t care much about these people. One day hopefully, they will realize that they’ve been wasting their time taking drugs that don’t do anything but masking the symptoms.
