Effective Home Remedies That You Could Try To Prevent Tmj From Worsening

If you always experience migraines, distracting clicking and popping in your jaw

, or you constantly feel that your face, neck and shoulders are sore, the main cause of these issues might be literally found in your head. You might be suffering from what is medically referred to as temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ). TMJ is a condition wherein a person's temporomandibular joint, the joint that allows your jaws to open, close and move sideways, is misaligned. There are roughly ten million Americans suffering from this condition. Unfortunately, it often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and untreated.

TMJ may occur due to a variety of reasons. It can be induced by the teeth not fitting together properly caused by genetics, orthodontia, or teeth clenching (bruxism); bad habits like cradling the phone between one's ears and shoulders; and injuries brought about by accidents, whiplash, or heavy blow to the jaw. Stress is also regarded as one of the primary causes of TMJ occurrence, as it has been found out that many individuals suffering from this condition have had their first TMJ experience during a stressful event in their lives.

TMJ can cause significant pain in the jaw, popping and clicking of the jaw, migraines, and facial discomfort to its sufferers. Even though the treatments for TMJ are primarily focused on dental and medical interventions, and sometimes would also require surgery, not all health plans have a coverage for the treatment of TMJ. However, if you're among the people affected by this condition, you don't have to spend huge sums of money for frequent doctor visits or undergo a surgery in order to lessen the pain caused by TMJ. In order to help people who have no access to medical and dental treatment, many medical professionals are now recommending a variety of TMJ home remedies.

One of the most recommended TMJ home remedies is to let the sufferer become aware of his or her sleeping position. If you're a side sleeper or stomach sleeper and you're suffering from TMJ, it is time to change your sleeping position on your back. Sleeping on your side reinforces teeth clenching, and could also cause bad jaw, neck and shoulder alignment. To prevent yourself from sleeping on your side, you might want to try pinning shoulder pads on the side of your sleep wear as these things would keep you from flipping on your side during the middle of the night.

Another simple home remedy for TMJ is to apply ice or frozen wash cloths to the jaw for 10-15 minutes several times a day. You could also apply ice on your forehead especially if you have a TMJ-induced headache in order to alleviate the pain. It is also advised that you eat only soft foods for a few days and refrain from eating hard and chewy foods so as to minimize the tension on your jaw muscles that further reinforces TMJ. As much as possible yawn with your mouth slightly opened and not too wide so as not to exert too much force on your jaws.

Breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and other forms of contemplative exercises like yoga and Tai Chi are also ideal TMJ home remedies that could help in reducing the pain caused by TMJ. It is noteworthy that tension could significantly contribute to the rise of TMJ pain, which is why tense people are more likely to suffer from this condition than relaxed people. Hence, these exercises are helpful in achieving good posture, aligning the spine, and correcting standing and sitting in tensed poses. Basically, relaxation is the main key in dealing with TMJ as many physicians emphasize that getting into a "relaxation mode" especially an hour before you sleep will significantly reduce your jaw from tensing up at night and will end your teeth grinding.

by: Kevin Bates

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