TMJ cracking, anyone else?

[BonesCom]

So I've noticed that over the last 3 months or so my left TMJ (Temporomandibular joint, jaw joint near temple), has become tight. What I mean is that sometimes I open my jaw wide, to yawn for instance, and the left side feels like it's limited, if I force it it cracks and I'm all good from there, but last week it really started to get achey. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm looking around on the net for some exercises, anyone?

[D_Glenn]

I had the same thing but got it fixed real quick with acupuncture. If they do the points right by the actual joint it's kind of a hard one to handle, it works though.

[Daniel]

Overworked liver/Wood Element, I´d guess. It´s also spring (if it is spring where you are...) which is linked to Wood and tends to make people hyperactivate their wood-element or simply get wood-related symptoms due to the season and wind. Wood would manifest in one of the end-points as more tension in your jaws.


D.

Sarcasm. Oh yeah, like that´ll work.

[eddie mush]

temporomandibular dysfunction is very uncomfortable but it's almost always a muscular imbalance and acupuncture is indeed a great option.
because:
Acupuncture seems to have an effect in 85% of patients with TMD
Acupuncture seems also to have an effect regarding pain reducing in about 75%
treatment of Xiaguan (ST-7) is considered a main treatment point locally, Hegu (LI-4) is considered a main distal point. Other points like Jiache (ST-6), tinggong (SI-19) etc. as well as local tender points (ashi xue) can also be used.
Acupuncture have a long lasting effect on TMD
Remember that trigger points in M. trapezius can radiate to the angle of the jaw.

Mush

Bergström I, List T, Magnusson T. A follow-up study of subjective symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in patients who received acupuncture and/or interocclusal appliance therapy 18-20 years earlier. Acta Odontol Scand. 2008;66(2):88-92.

de Sousa RA, Semprini M, Vitti M, Borsatto MC, Hallak Regalo SC. Electromyographic evaluation of the masseter and temporal muscles activity in volunteers submitted to acupuncture. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol. 2007;47(4-5):243-50. Shen YF, Goddard G. The short-term effects of acupuncture on myofascial pain patients after clenching. Pain Pract. 2007 Sep;7(3):256-64.

Smith P, Mosscrop D, Davies S, Sloan P, Al-Ani Z. The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of temporomandibular joint myofascial pain: a randomised controlled trial. J Dent. 2007;35(3):259-67.
Fink M, Rosted P, Bernateck M, Stiesch-Scholz M, Karst M. Acupuncture in the treatment of painful dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint -- a review of the literature. Forsch Komplementmed. 2006 Apr;13(2):109-15. Epub 2006 Apr 19. Review.

[shawnsegler]

I used to have some tmj problems that cleared up after I started to develop the old shenfa. Just keep doing the tongue on the roof of the mouth/tuck the chin and suspend from above and eventually you should start to loosen and relax those muscles in your neck and face.

I actually had some problems while everything was adjusting because of some dental work I'd had done that became uncomfortable as everything moved around it. It eventually evened out though.

Try doing Da Liu's self massage stuff from his book. I've been doing that stuff for years and it's awesome. Rub the bony ridge around your eyes with your thumb knuckles and also get the hinge of your jaws with those knuckles. Run your tongue a bunch of times either direction around the interior of your mouth. Clack your teeth together. It's a long term investment, but well worth it. That set cleared up my tmj and also the hand stretches cured some carpal tunnel I had years ago.

Best,

S

[gasmaster]

The popping is a sign that the joint is starting to degrade, I'd handle it now before it becomes more difficult to handle. Massage can help, accupuncture, osteopathy, etc.

[klonk]

Overworked liver/Wood Element, I´d guess. It´s also spring (if it is spring where you are...) which is linked to Wood and tends to make people hyperactivate their wood-element or simply get wood-related symptoms due to the season and wind. Wood would manifest in one of the end-points as more tension in your jaws.


D.

Sarcasm. Oh yeah, like that´ll work.

Yep. Springtime makes me overactive in my wood element every time.

Popping in the jaw hinge is often a sign of stress and tension, as explained to me by the dentist I asked about it. I got it real bad when he was about to go to work on my back teeth.

[Daniel]

So glad to hear you know your classical chinese medicine in depth, Klonk.



D.

Sarcasm. Oh yeah, like that´ll work.

[klonk]

Tennyson, anyone?

[Ian]

Your TMJ is where your lower jaw attaches to your skull. If you have your head flexed forward most of the time, instead of using your upper torso and neck muscles to support your heavy old head, your body recruits a different set of muscles - the ones you'd normally use to open and close your mouth - to keep your head from falling forward.

Bad posture means your jaw muscles go into flexion and stay that way. Sort your posture out.

Overworked liver/Wood Element, I´d guess. It´s also spring (if it is spring where you are...) which is linked to Wood and tends to make people hyperactivate their wood-element or simply get wood-related symptoms due to the season and wind. Wood would manifest in one of the end-points as more tension in your jaws.

Eh?

It's a simple postural issue...

[Brady]

Eh?

It's a simple postural issue...

Ian, posture has a lot to do with it but even the research points to a heavy emotional component with TMD. Acupuncture has a better treatment outcome than many "postural" methods for this.

[Ian]

Brady,

Acupunture has its place, but for pain caused by obvious postural deficiencies (plantar fascitis, stiff neck, sore TMJ), doing work to restore proper design motion to the joint that's in chronic pain should be the primary concern. Acupuncture should be used as a bonus.

[Brady]

While I definitely agree that movement therapy is incredibly useful (its my profession), I don't see stiff necks/TMJ issues to be primarily postural and the literature really supports this. Also, it may be splitting hairs but I have an issue with calling a movement dysfunction a postural issue b/c to most people that implies a static held position, not activities we regularly use our bodies for.
The most effective treatments western medicine has come up with are mixes of peripheral biofeedback with central behavior therapy. Acupuncture, if it solves the issue, shouldn't be ruled out as a primary treatment.
I get angry at the average PT joe shmoe who prescribes rote postural exercises w/o any knowledge of underlying mechanisms of injury. Its this type of therapy that is the reason we see tons of pain meds, night guards, surgeries, and other abhorrent treatments for this issue.

[neijia_boxer]

got this in the email-

Treating TMJ & Headache Pain
by Erik Dalton PhD., Certified Advanced Rolfer

A positive test for a head-forward posture requires that the zygomatic arch (under the eye) be more than 3 centimeters forward of the sternoclavicular joint. Clients presenting with head-forward postures are vulnerable to increased stress not only in the neck but the jaw as well. When treating TMJ and head pain, therapists should be reminded that the jaw functions separately from the cranium. Embryologically, the jaw develops from visceral myotomes…not cranial.
In those with forward head postures, the head and neck move forward in the sagittal plane causing the occiput to backward-bend on atlas to level the eyes (See Class II in Box A below). This proprioceptive reflex (Law of Righting) will always cock the head back to level the eyes against the horizon even if it means ravaging the neck.

As the head moves forward, the capital extensors (suboccipitals, semispinalis, splenius, longissimus and trapezius) must fight gravity to keep the head from dropping. Soon, the entire nervous system goes into a heightened state of alert. In a forward head posture, passive tensile forces begin to shorten and tighten the hyoid and digastric muscles creating a strong tug on the mandible which translates the jaw posteriorly and inferiorly (Fig 1). Jaw retrusion develops as these shortened muscles fight to hold the jaw back as the head translates forward. To make matters worse, the temporalis and masseter muscles are forced to co-contract against the hyoids so the mouth can be kept closed. Prolonged temporalis and masseter contraction promotes abnormal mandibular positioning and disc compression at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Common symptoms
accompanying this
strain pattern include:
• Suboccipital pain syndromes
• Mouth breathing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Teeth clenching
• Face and neck pain
• Migraines

Box A:
When comparing Class II and Class III structures to the Class I, Normal, the line of weight bearing (LWB) falls more posterior to the plumb line in the Class II, Retrusive jaw (extensor-dominant neck) and anterior in the Class III, protrusive jaw (flexor-dominant neck).

The Class II subject is likely to experience TMJ dysfunction as the mandible is crammed into the condyles.



Note: TMJ disruption is notorious for its negative impact on the 11th cranial accessory nerve. Since the upper trapezius and sternomastoids are directly innervated by the 11th cranial, jaw pain neurologically shortens these muscles initiating a “Catch 22” pain cycle. As the upper traps cock the head back and the SCMs pull it forward, excessive tension mounts in the hyoids, digastrics, masseters, and temporalis which, in turn, cause even greater TMJ compression and pain.

Optimal head and neck functioning requires that TMJ surfaces retain their ability to glide freely on one another. Since the main innervation to the dural membrane is the vagus and trigeminal nerves, faulty neck and jaw alignment can pinch and twist this sensitive membrane affecting myoskeletal as well as visceral structures. Trigeminal nerve treatment should always be complemented with masseter and temporalis work for they are also “up-regulated” in most TMJ and forward head cases.

Occipitoatlantal work demonstrated in the Advanced Myoskeletal Techniques home-study course helps therapists relieve 11th accessory and 9th trigeminal pain conditions. Meantime, continue using all techniques that have proven successful in reversing forward head postures and accompanying TMJ pain.

[eddie mush]

Occipitoatlantal work demonstrated in the Advanced Myoskeletal Techniques home-study course helps therapists relieve 11th accessory and 9th trigeminal pain conditions. Meantime, continue using all techniques that have proven successful in reversing forward head postures and accompanying TMJ pain.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.
He means the 5th cranial nerve N. trigeminus. 9th would be N. Glossopharyngeal.