tmj disorders…

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skull of an adult, causes, secondary headache, tmd, temporomandibular joint disorders, temporomandibular joints, tmjs, connect lower jaw to skull, two matching joints, one on each side of head, located just in front of ears, abbreviation "tmj" literally refers, joint but, refer to any disorders, symptoms of this region, such problems include popping sounds, in the jaw, inability to fully open the mouth, jaw pain, headaches, earaches, toothaches, various facial pain, many tmj-related symptoms, effects of physical, emotional stress on the structures around the joint, structures include the muscles, the jaw, face, neck, teeth, cartilage disc, joint, nearby ligaments, blood vessels, nerves, daily stress, lead to clench, grind teeth, at night sleep, clenching means tightly clamp top, bottom teeth together, the back teeth, stressful force of clenching causes, pressure on the muscles, tissues, structures around jaw, who clench also grind teeth, grinding, slide teeth over each other, generally, sideways, back-and-forth movement, action, wear down teeth, noisy enough at night to bother sleeping partners, poor posture, an important factor, holding the head forward looking at a computer all day strains the muscles, the face, neck, factors that might aggravate tmj symptoms, inability to relax, poor diet, lack of sleep, all of these stresses, result in "trigger points", contracted muscles, pinched nerves in jaw, head, neck, trigger points, refer pain to other areas, causing a headache, earache, toothache, causes, tmj-related symptoms include arthritis, fractures, dislocations, structural problems present, birth, headache, earache, joint is located right in front, the ears, interpreted, ear pain, pain referred, ear from nearby muscles, jaw pain, tenderness, the jaw, dull, aching facial pain, biting, chewing difficulty, discomfort, clicking sound chewing, opening the mouth, grating sensation chewing, reduced ability to open, close the mouth, tmj pain, require evaluation by more than one medical specialty, primary care provider, a dentist, an ear, nose, throat, ent, depending on symptoms, dentists specialize in tmj diagnosis, a thorough examination, involve, feeling the joint, connecting muscles, tenderness, watching, feeling, listening, jaw open, shut, sliding the teeth from side to side, pressing around the head, areas, sensitive, painful, x-rays, abnormalities, difficult to read, an mri, the jaw area, occasionally be performed, a dental examination, mis-alignment, the bite, crossbite, malocclusion, the physical examination, appear normal, simple, gentle therapies, don't work, mouth guards, aggressive treatments considered, surgery, considered a last resort, many steps, take at home long, that point, try massaging the various muscles that involved, probe, the muscles, the face, shoulders, the neck, avoid the area around the throat, press on the muscles to identify extremely painful points, massage the painful spot, hard, short strokes, this several times a day, muscle is no longer painful, pressed, to massage the masseter muscles on each side of jaw, place thumb inside mouth, squeeze the thick muscle in cheek, toward the back of mouth, fingers, to get, harder-to-reach jaw muscles inside mouth, use index finger to probe, tender areas behind the teeth, use the finger to massage these spots, other steps to consider, maintain good posture working at a computer, watching tv, reading, take frequent breaks to relieve stressed muscles, make a habit of relaxing facial, jaw muscles throughout the day, avoid eating hard foods, nuts, candies, steak, drink plenty of water every day, get plenty of sleep, learn relaxation techniques to reduce overall stress, muscle tension in back, neck, home-care therapies, people, moist heat, cold packs on the face, vitamin supplements, biofeedback, exercising several times each week, help relax, strengthen body, increase flexibility, increase pain threshold, read, can, opinion, widely on the management of tmj disorders, get several clinical perspectives, good news, most people eventually find something that helps, mouth guards, mouth guards, splints, appliances, have been used, the 1930's to treat teeth grinding, clenching, tmj disorders, have found them to be useful, the benefits vary widely, guard, lose its effectiveness over time, stop wearing it, people, feel worse pain, they wear one, different types of splints, fit over the top, the teeth, on the bottom, designed to keep jaw, relaxed position, inhibit clenching, provide some other function, one type doesn't work, another, a new type of splint, the nti-tss, fits over just a couple of top, front teeth, idea, keep all of back teeth completely separated, under the theory that most clenching, by these back teeth, the nti splint, contact is between the tiny splint, one bottom front tooth, aggressive treatment, cautious, non-reversible treatment method that permanently alters bite, a mouth guard doesn't work, dentist, recommend orthodontics to help re-align teeth, reconstructive surgery, the jaw is rarely required, in fact, worse than, surgery, muscle relaxant medications, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, nsaids, help reduce inflammation, in the jaw stemming from arthritis, inflammation, two excellent books, taking control of tmj by robert uppgaard, trigger point therapy workbook by clair davies, most cases, successfully treated, initially it difficult to diagnose the problem, find an effective solution, cases of pain go away on own, tmj-related pain tends to be cyclical, return again, in the future, cause is nightime clenching, particularly tricky, a sleeping behavior that is hard to control, mouth splints, a common treatment approach, teeth grinding, splints, silence the grinding by providing a flat, surface, effectiveness at reducing pain, stopping clenching is more controversial, splints effective, in the short-term but could, become less effective over time, splints, cause changes in bite, chronic headaches, chronic facial pain, a tmj specialist, having trouble eating, opening mouth, keep in mind that a wide variety of possible conditions, cause tmj symptoms, from arthritis to whiplash injuries, a tmj specialist, full evaluation, self-care measures, not help, several weeks, tmj problems, not fall clearly into one medical discipline, tmj specialists have a wide variety of treatment approaches, interested, massage-based approach, look, massage, physical therapist trained in trigger point therapy, neuromuscular therapy, nmt, clinical massage, pain relief, applies to tmj pain, dentists who specialize in evaluating, treating tmj disorders, perform x-ray exams, prescribe a mouth guard, surgery is now considered a last resort by the vast majority of tmj experts, the home-care steps to treat tmj problems, prevent such problems, in the first place, maintain good posture, work all day at a computer, pause frequently to change position, rest hands, arms, relieve stressed muscles, learn relaxation techniques to reduce overall stress, muscle tension, avoid eating hard foods, chewing gum, drink plenty of water every day, get plenty of sleep, use safety measures to reduce the risk of fractures, dislocations, american dental association, tmd/tmj, temporomandibular disorders, ada.org/public/topics/tmd_tmj, asp, lobbezoo f, topical review, new insights, pathology, diagnosis of disorders, the temporomandibular joint, j orofac pain, 18(3), 181-191, simons dc, travell jg, myofascial pain, dysfunction, trigger point manual, vol, upper half, atlanta, ga, emory university, 1998.