Learn how to prevent TMJ in Woodbury MN.

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What is TMJ in Woodbury MN?

TMJ (temporomandibular joint) is a structure composed of your muscles, tendons and bones. This joint connects your jaw to your skull. When this joint is injured it can cause the following symptoms:

• pain in the jaw
• jaw popping and or clicking
• ear pain
• popping in the ears
• stiffness or soreness in the jaw
• pain in the temple area
• locking of the jaw

Injury to the jaw can also cause injury to your teeth, jaw and teeth misalignment, teeth grinding, poor posture along with stress, arthritis and gum chewing.

TMJ can respond usually to things you can do at home. Using heat can help relax the muscles, icing will help decrease inflammation and pain, massaging and gentle stripping of the inner and outer Pterygoid muscles and other trigger points, and natural anit-inflammatory foods and supplements.

If these things fail to work, seek out your local or primary physician for help. As a chiropractor how can we help? At the office we will re-align the jaw if it is out of alignment. We will also work on stripping the muscles and recommend things to do at home.

Common findings with TMJ, especially when stress is involved are cervical subluxations or misalignments. Your entire body is connected through a series of connective tissue, ligaments, tendons and muscles. When one area is injured, usually another part of your body is compensating for the lack of function in that area. When it comes to the jaw not functioning properly, the muscles and ligaments can get irritated and inflamed. This can cause stress and poor posture, causing the neck muscles to take on more stress to hold your head upright and when this happens commonly there will be cervical vertebrae out of alignment.

TMJ and the cervical spine work very close together and it can be a pretty frustrating circle, but once you discover what works for you, you can keep ahead of the pain and malfunction. If the injured area does not respond to the adjustments and muscle work then more invasive therapies might need to be taken. Dental splints, night mouth guards may need to be worn, other medical treatments such as Botox injections, medical prescriptions can be taken and in some severe cases surgery.

Surgery is obviously the very last we wish to avoid. Be proactive with your health!

Home remedies:

• Heat/Ice: apply for 20 minutes use a heating pad or warm tea bags/ice or cold pack
• Massage/trigger point: Apply a gentle-firm pressure on the trigger points until you feel the muscle/tension relax then massage along with the muscles.The muscles on the inside of your mouth are just as important as the ones that are outside of your mouth, make sure to work those muscles as well. If you are unsure where to massage and do trigger points, you can certainly ask your physician and you can research on-line.
• Essential Oils such as Lavender, Frankincense, Chamomile, Myrrh, Sweet Orange, Lemon, Peppermint and many others can be used as a topical in order to promote relaxation and reduce pain.
• Anti-inflammatory foods: fish, tuna, salmon, spinach, kale, broccoli, collard greens,whole grains, low-fat dairy, colorful peppers, almonds and other nuts, tomatoes, beets, ginger, turmeric, garlic, onion, berries, olive oil...

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Christine Bartholomew, DC