Is TMJ facial pain making your life unbearable?
Before being diagnosed with TMJ, (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) many people are first diagnosed as having migraines, sinus infections, ear infections, strained neck muscles, and so on.
However, all of these diagnosis are actually symptoms of TMJ, which can be a very painful and scary condition to have.
What is TMJ?
TMJ describes a condition that involves the jaw joints, the muscles that control jaw movement and the dental occlusion.
TMJ / TMDs are physical disorders arising from an imbalance in the delicate working relationship of the jaw and skull with the muscles that move the jaw, as well as the nervous system associated with these systems.
This imbalance results in muscle fatigue, spasms and/or joint dysfunction, and even changes in the teeth, which in turn cause a variety of symptoms, unique for each person.
To be clearer still, these imbalances result in intense facial pain, which can include:
- Headaches
- Dental pain
- Pain in the jaw joints or on jaw movement
- Ear pain, tinnitus, ear pressure
- Neck, back, shoulder and even chest pain
The pain can be so debilitating that the mention of surgery doesn’t even put people off. But please know, of the millions of Americans who suffer from TMJ, only less than 5% require surgery, and this is usually do to certain bone structures and dental problems which cannot be corrected by natural means at home by the sufferer.
That means, however, that the other 95% of us who struggle with the facial pain associated with TMJ can and do find permanent relief through specific techniques and exercises alone.
