There are various methods that can be used to treat TMJ. The following are a few of these methods.
- Make a conscious effort to avoid overstraining your jaw : avoid chewing on pens,etc.
- Better to stay away from hard foods
- Divide food into smaller pieces before eating
- Over the counter anti-inflammatory medications can be used to relieve pain, such as Ibuprofen
- Soothing music maybe helpful
- Reduce stress in your life
- Stretching exercises for the neck and shoulders
- Try to maintain a proper posture to keep your jaws well aligned
- Avoid spending extended periods of time at your PC.
- Avoiding stiffening your neck up
- Muscle relaxants can be taken in case of persistent pain
- Ask for prescription medications from your doctor, if OTC drugs aren’t sufficient.
- A mouth guard may be worn during sleep to avoid teeth grinding
- A dentist may give you a temporary splint to restore your jaw to its proper position
- Surgery should be kept as a last resort solution after all others fail
- Massage and heat treatment of your jaw muscles may prove beneficial
- Psychotherapy to reduce stress
- Low potency tranquilizers may be used
- Antidepressants may be used
- Herbal and nutritional supplements may be taken. Kava is an effective herbal supplement used for relief of anxiety, tension and insomnia. It increases the efficiency of your memory as well as your sociability. Depression associated with TMD can also be treated using herbal supplements such St.John’s Wort.
Exercises to relief TMJ
Exercises may be done while sitting upright in any chair.
- With your mouth and teeth closed, brush the tip of your tongue against your soft palate.
- Open your mouth slowly while still keeping the tongue in contact until it feels like you’re pulling your tongue away from against the palate.
- Maintain this position for about 5 seconds and then close your mouth once again.
- Stay in a relaxed position for 5 seconds and then repeat.
- These steps should be repeated for about 5 minutes.
Upon opening your mouth, you’re likely to feel that your jaw and chin muscles are tense. This exercise is best carried out facing a mirror so that you may check how your teeth are aligned.
Whatever treatment you may choose for your TMJ, make sure you do it correctly and regularly for the best results.
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.
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.
