Temporomandibular joint disorder usually referred to as TMJ disorder or TMD, is a chronic ailment that affects many people. This disorder is responsible for dozens of symptoms that can arise when there is a problem with the joint between the jaw bone and the skull. If you put your fingers just in front of your ears and open and close your mouth you will feel exactly where the TMJ is. There are two of them - one on each side of your head and they are used a lot.
Just as in your backbone, there is a disc between the jaw bone and your skull. When you chew you apply a lot of pressure to your TM joints and the disc is there to distribute that pressure to spread it out along the contact points. The TMJ is used a lot every day since everyone has to eat and chew food but it's also used when we talk and yawn. It's one of the most used joints in your body.
Some of the most commonly complained about symptoms caused by the TMJ disorder are headaches, migraines, earaches, toothaches, neck pain, and clicking or popping sounds when the mouth is opened or closed. But there are many other symptoms that are all centered on the head and neck. In some of the more severe cases the jaw will shift on one side when the mouth is opened causing it to be lopsided and painful.
Many times a doctor will recommend surgery to fix this problem but you should be very careful there. The main problem with surgery is it can be very painful and expensive. You should also consider that the TMJ disorder is a physical condition and most physical conditions can be treated successfully with therapy. It would be very prudent to do everything possible and explore all other options for TMJ therapy before resorting to a surgery where the recovery interferes with your ability to eat and speak.
Probably the chief cause of this disorder is grinding your teeth or clenching your jaws while you are asleep. That would be caused by stress, tension, or anxiety and no matter how you go about treating the symptoms of your TMJ you will need to treat the stress also because when you grind your teeth or clench your jaws in your sleep you will be undoing any benefits gained through whatever TMJ therapy or treatment you are using.
That brings us to the question of what can you do about TMJ disorder. Probably the most logical course of action is to use a two pronged treatment plan. First you will need to figure out a way to reduce stress. There are many different ways to do this including Yoga breathing exercises, listening to soothing music, talking to others with the same condition, therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist, taking walks in a park, and trying to take items off your "to do" list.
Then, while you are treating your stress you can begin treating your TMJ symptoms with exercises designed to be TMJ therapy. When it comes to physical therapy there is a specific guideline that all physical therapy exercises are focusing on. First you want to use exercises that reduce any swelling and stretch the muscles to allow the joint to have a more normal range of motion. Then you want to do exercises that repair and strengthen the muscles around the joint so there is less of a chance the problem will return.
So when it comes to treating your TMJ it's all about therapy. You have to use tension reducing therapy to lower your stress level and attack the root cause of your TMJ disorder and you should use TMJ therapy exercises to treat your symptoms. If you can find some simple exercises that help you relieve the pain and cope with your symptoms it will be simply a matter of consistently finding the time to do these stress reducing therapies and your TMJ therapy.
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