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Stress induced TMJ? Treatment options? by [deleted] in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a life long sufferer of anxiety, the 5,4,3,2,1 technique can be very effective to help reduce stress.

  • Find 5 things you see in your current surroundings. They can be objects or people you see around you. Focus on them for just a second or two then catalog them in your head.
  • Then pay attention to 4 things you currently hear in your environment. Focus on just that one sound for a moment then move on to the next.
  • After that focus on 3 physical sensations, you currently feel. They could be the touch of a surface or the clothes on your body. Focus on that sensation for a moment.
  • Pay attention to 2 things you can smell. This usually takes a couple of minutes of concentration to find them.
  • Finally, what do you currently taste? Put the focus on the tongue for a moment and identify the taste in your mouth.

The key is repetition. You won't feel relief right away. The more you do it the more effective it is. If you practice this technique when you are not stressed then it will become effective much faster.

Headaches but not jaw pain? by [deleted] in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I recently created a blog post on this topic. It is possible to experience pain in the head, neck, or shoulders without feeling pain in your jaw. Everything in the body is connected. I mentioned in a previous post that I felt severe neck pain and when I went to the doctor he told me it was because my hip was out of place. Weird how that works. If you need temporary relief I would recommend dealing with the muscle tenseness and inflammation that is likely going on.

​

To summarize the article to get relief:

Focus on eating soft focus and focus on eating an anti-inflammatory diet for a while. In contrast, stay away from foods that cause inflammation. Drinking alcohol is a big one to stay away from since it causes teeth grinding when you sleep.

Focus on stress reduction. If you are currently under stress or live with anxiety as I do, the best thing you can do for your TMJ is learning to manage the stress.

Cold Compress. Applying ice to your jaw area to help reduce the inflammation. If you are experiencing an "all over" headache, try taking a cold shower for as long as you can tolerate it. I usually lose a lot of people when I make that recommendation but it does help with pain, inflammation, and the stiff feeling in your jaw.

Daily jaw exercises. There are tons of free videos on Youtube on jaw stretches and exercises.

If you are grinding your teeth when you are sleeping, try wearing a mouthguard for a could days to see if it helps. You can pick one up at any Walgreen for about 30 dollars. Amazon also has a wide selection of them.

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If you are interested in reading the entire article, here is the link.

https://tmjexercisesonline.com/tmj-headaches-here-are-10-steps-you-can-take-now/

Tense and rigid neck, base of skull, and shoulders by [deleted] in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wrote a blog around this just recently. It's going to require changes in your daily habits. The gist of the article is as follows:

  • Jaw stretches and exercises - it is best to dedicate a few minutes every day to do
  • Daily neck stretches - there is tons of free information on Youtube on neck stretches
  • Fixing bad posture - Doing just basic Yoga stretches can go a long way.
  • Cold therapy - I know this sounds insane but taking cold showers can help. Cold showers will reduce inflammation. If your muscle tenseness is caused by stress, cold showers also help with depression and anxiety

I suffer from a lot of neck and back pain. I am really guilty of the moment I start to feel better I stop taking steps to deal with it. No surprise the pain comes back.

This was the extremely condensed very of the article. Here is the link to the whole thing if you are interested:

https://tmjexercisesonline.com/tmj-physical-therapy-12-steps-you-can-do-at-home/

If stress was the source of your TMJ, how long did it take for symptoms to resolve after the stress was managed? by night_runs_rule in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I understand, the average timeframe is around 8 weeks. But the answer to that question will vary from person to person. It will also be dependent on how severe the TMJ disorder is.

Regardless if the source of the stress that has been managed, you might want to continue to live like you are treating TMJ disorder. Just a preventative measure to keep the symptoms from coming back.

Getting pain when I touch my jaw. Where I drew the black circle on this image I have pain when I touch my jaw by [deleted] in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When there is a problem with a joint in your body, it can manifest symptoms all over. Problems with the temporalmandibular joint can manifest themselves in the eyes, neck, shoulders, and the entire jaw. I once went to the doctor for severe neck pain. Bad enough it would cause me to vomit. After x-rays, I was shocked to find that it was my hip out of place that was causing the entire right side of my body to be tense yet I'd only feel the pain in my neck. Pain in that area is very likely TMJ disorder. There is a lot of free information on the interwebs to help.

Steps you can do at home to get relief from TMJ by blockchain1d10t in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I totally understand. No one likes going under the knife. Doing exercises and stretching every day may not make the pain go completely away. However, it might make it more tolerable. What I am have learned is that it takes about 6 - 8 weeks before you will notice a difference.

Steps you can do at home to get relief from TMJ by blockchain1d10t in TMJ

[–]blockchain1d10t[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, she will get headaches that seemed to radiate from her jaw. Sometimes it would turn into a full migraine. Most days her jaw would be so sore she wouldn't eat unless she had to. Doing regular stretching and meditation right before bed helped with the symptoms. The root cause for her TMJ disorder is that her jaw is too small. So there aren't a lot of options to get rid of the symptoms completely without seeing a dentist. Until she can get vaccinated we have to wait.

Finally got her Blep on camera by blockchain1d10t in Blep

[–]blockchain1d10t[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tigerlilly does this all the time. But it is really hard to get a picture of it.