Do you suffer from TMJ (temporomandibular jaw) pain? Does someone close to you or do your patients suffer from TMJ pain? Are you interested in finding possible ways of reducing/eliminating that TMJ pain? If so, this pearl might help.
Disclaimer
This is the final part of this three-part pain series, which deals with TMJ pain. The opinions stated here are based on over 50 years of personal research and what has and has not worked for my client’s patients, my acquaintances and me. This is an offering to get you thinking outside of the “pill box” and possibly resolve the root of your pain instead of covering it up with medications—medications are helpful, but they are not the only way to resolve your TMJ pain. There are no guarantees that any of this will work for you and some might give you adverse affects, which tells you what NOT to do—but it’s worth a try if what you are now doing is not helping.
Statistics
Most dentists and their staff do not suffer from TMD (temporomandibular dysfunction) that causes TMJ pain, but they treat many patients that do. Ten to 12% of the US population (40 million) suffers from mild to severe TMJ pain that can affect all aspects of their life. Mild to severe TMJ pain can cause discomfort and limit your ability to perform normal activities such as eating, speaking, and even sleeping. TMJ pain can be constant, intermittent, dull or sharp, especially when chewing, yawning, laughing or talking.
Everybody gets headaches and 17% of the US population requires a physician’s help to deal with them. Also, 17% of women and 5.6% of men suffer from migraines, 2% of the US population suffers from benign brain tumors and less than 1% of the US population suffers from cancerous brain tumors—none of these types of headaches will be discussed here and needs to be diagnosed by your physician if you have them.
What is the TMJ?
TMJ pain is actually caused by TMD (Temporo-Mandibular Dysfunction), but most people refer to TMD as TMJ. As the name suggests, the Temporo-Mandibular Joint is the joint between the temporal bone and mandibular (jaw) bone. As the diagram below on the left shows, the tip of the jawbone (mandible) is called the “condyle” and the temporal bone socket that it fits into is called the “fossa”. A “Disc” cushions the condyle and fossa and there are nerves and blood flowing through that area. There are numerous muscles associated with the TMJ as shown in the right diagram and they can be painful with TMD.
According to my new-age chiropractor, Dr. Matthew Bauman, there are two other muscles affecting the TMJ: the Stylohyoid and Omohyoid. The stylohyoid muscle is attached from the hyoid bone to the skull and the Omohyoid muscle is attached from the hyoid bone to the scapula (shoulder blade).
When larger groups of muscles in the head and neck are not in balance they completely overwhelm the stylohyoid and omohyoid muscles, making them tense and compressing the TMJ, causing pain and inflammation. Tense muscles are tight and can’t properly function due to muscle fiber disorientation, anoxia from compressed arteries, and traumatic peripheral nerve injury. Thus, when evaluating muscles related to the TMJ, these two muscles should also be taken into account. Manipulation of the stylohyoid and omohyoid and other TMJ muscles by a new-age chiropractor can bring them back into balance, allowing them to heal and function properly, relieving/reducing TMD pain.
Types of “TMD”
► TMJ muscular dysfunction
► Disc dislocation or deterioration
► Jaw locked open or closed
► Clenching or grinding your jaws due to excessive stress or adverse habits
Causes of TMJ Pain
► Diet allergies
► Weak, tense TMJ muscles from grinding/clenching your teeth
► Trauma to the TMJ muscles, tendons, nerves, and bone
► Deterioration or slipping of the TMJ “disc”
► Malocclusion of teeth, offsetting the TMJ
► All of the above
Dealing with TMD and TMJ Pain
I had suffered with severe TMD in the 1960’s and 1970’s. In 1980 Dr. Chuck Hulsey (an orthodontist specializing in TMD) and I organize the “Holistic Dental Association”, whose main purpose was to effectively treat TMJ pain using both traditional and non-traditional therapies. This pearl includes some of the therapies that we used then and new therapies that also work.
► Diet and food allergies are a significant cause of TMJ pain. If you know that you are allergic to certain foods write them down. To find out which foods might cause your TMJ pain keep a log of when you have TMJ pain and all of the foods you have eaten in the past 12 hours. Do this for a month or so and then look for a pattern to find the foods to avoid. Some foods are obvious and some are difficult to determine; the obvious ones must be avoided. These allergic foods may also cause skin rashes, eczema, and the like, which should also be logged. In rare cases you may have a yeast infestation that is causing all of your problems and if so, you must get rid of it by limiting carbohydrates (especially sugars) and using “complete” probiotics. Refer to the book “The Yeast Syndrome” 1986, by John Parks Trowbridge, MD for information and therapies. I had this problem and I resolved it after 2.5 months of a restrictive diet; it was one of the best things I ever did for my health.
► "Iron" your TMJ-related muscles by pressing your fingers against the sides of your head, starting from the top of your Temporalis muscles down through the Pterygoid muscles to the bottom of your Masseter muscles (see diagram above). Do this whenever you are in pain until the pain subsides. Basically, you are getting rid of trigger points and muscle/fascia tightness. You might also try using a Massage Gun for a few minutes instead of your fingers going down the side of your head. If this doesn’t help, maybe your stylohyoid and omohyoid muscles need treatment by a new-age chiropractor, or you might have disc problems that need to be evaluated.
► Be aware of and stop grinding/clenching your teeth while awake. Wear a night guard while sleeping to relax your jaw muscles and stop the wearing of your lower teeth and upper arch cingulum.
► Get “Splint Therapy” from a local orthodontist who treats a lot of TMD.
► See a “new-age chiropractor” who deals with TMJ pain. The evaluation might also indicate other dysfunctional body areas that need to be addressed that might exacerbate your TMJ pain.
► Go to a “pain clinic” and have them analyze your problem if nothing else works.
► If you need TMJ Disc surgery, have it evaluated and find a surgeon to do it.
► Use Bio-Magnetic Therapy on your TMJ. My new-age chiropractor has determined that my “Bio-magnetic TMJ Device” helps to relax and heal the TMJ muscles, making their manipulation more effective. It fits over your
head and applies a bio-magnetic field to your TMJ muscles. His patients wear the device before he manipulates the TMJ muscles/arteries/nerves and they also wear it at home when they get TMJ pain. I had a chance to test it on my painful TMJ caused by the wrong night guard. I put it on for three hours on day one, two hours the next and one hour the next day. By day four the TMJ pain was gone and didn’t return. This device can also be used with Splint Therapy and it also makes a great intermittant pain reliever. Not every body would get the same results as I did, but it could help.
head and applies a bio-magnetic field to your TMJ muscles. His patients wear the device before he manipulates the TMJ muscles/arteries/nerves and they also wear it at home when they get TMJ pain. I had a chance to test it on my painful TMJ caused by the wrong night guard. I put it on for three hours on day one, two hours the next and one hour the next day. By day four the TMJ pain was gone and didn’t return. This device can also be used with Splint Therapy and it also makes a great intermittant pain reliever. Not every body would get the same results as I did, but it could help.
I hope that this discussion on TMD and TMJ pain was helpful and gave you more ways of dealing with your TMJ pain or the TMJ pain of
those close to you. I also hope that this entire pain series has helped you, your acquaintances and your patients to relieve their pain.
