Everyone deal with stress, but we all handle it in different ways. Some let issues roll off of their backs, while others work themselves with worry until it becomes a medical situation like an ulcer. Another physical manifestation of stress can affect the jaw and is termed temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ.
TMJ sufferers can go months without realizing their issue, since many of them acquire it through the grinding of their teeth as they sleep. This involuntary tick can cause issues down the road and, with TMJ, can manifest as a variety of pains that radiate throughout the jaw.
The pain that’s associated with TMJ involves, at its base, the joints and muscles that connect the top and lower jaw to one another. Our jaws are what make it possible to chew, yawn, and talk. Taking a few days or weeks off from doing these activities isn’t really possible.
The actual symptoms of pain will work their way outwards to encompass the areas in and around your ears, as well as giving you headaches. Once symptoms progress to the point that you have difficulty opening or closing your mouth, you will have to see a doctor for treatment.
That isn’t to say you should be concerned for your life, TMJ is treatable and is really the consequence of stress. There are other risk factors including injury, but also people who are already suffering from arthritis. In terms of population statistics, women are more likely to experience TMJ than men, especially during the years of 30 to 50, which is incidentally when many are raising children.
Just grinning and bearing it isn’t the way to go about dealing with TMJ. There are, fortunately, a number of treatments that encompass the pharmaceutical, surgical, and even behavioral. The first and last are usually all that are need since, since in most cases it is the overwork of muscles that is the problem.
Knowing how severe your case is, however, is up to your doctor. Depending on what they think you may have to go through an x-ray, CT scan, or MRI. All are noninvasive, but the latter two will allow for a more detailed look into your bones and joints.
Dealing with the ongoing pain, while receiving other treatments, makes the prescription of pain killers or muscle relaxers standard for a number of people that are diagnosed with this condition. For some, TMJ may actually be a side effect of depression and they can do well with a number of different anti-depressants.
More severe cases have to deal with injections into sites of damage, which can be quite painful, but the effects are immediate. Corticosteroids are usually used for those who already have arthritis and this is a powerful, long term, anti-inflammatory. Another option is Botox which will paralyze the nerves for the time being so that you can heal without pain.
In conjunction with medications, many sufferers will get bite guards which are just soft teeth molds they can wear as they sleep so as not to grind their teeth together. Cognitive behavioral therapy has made many strides with those that have TMJ because of stress. Using a variety of different stress relieving techniques patients can calm down their body’s reactions to daily issues.
Tinnitus is one typical and annoying symptom of TMJ. Have you heard of Stop the Ringing tinnitus cure program? This is one of the most effective systems that is available on the internet to treat the ringing in the ears.
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- Joint Pain and Stress
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- Stop Teeth Grinding in Sleep Now!
- San Diego Spinal Decompression Specialist Shows How Stress May Be Your Back Pain Culprit
- Clenching Teeth At Night Is Something You Need To Treat Now
- How To Combat Physical Tension
- What To Expect From Low Back Pain And Chiropractor Care
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- Upper Back Pain Relief At Home
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