It can range from a vague, aching sensation all over your head, neck, and shoulders to severe pain that you would swear is a migraine. The truth is, your painful symptoms are most likely caused by TMJ. And it can range in intensity from mild irritation to enough pain to almost put you off and make daily life difficult.

TMJ is short for Temporo Mandibular Joint and by itself it is not a problem because everyone has two of them. It is the joint where the lower movable jaw bone, or mandible, joins the skull with a sling of muscles, ligaments, and capsular cartilage. It is when the joint becomes dysfunctional that problems arise and in fact the condition is known as TMD or Temporomandubular Dysfunction Syndrome. And more recently, many medical and dental professionals refer to this broad group of painful symptoms as MPDS – Myo-Facial Pain and Dysfunction Syndrome.

The reason is that it is more often found that the pain does not originate in the joint. The joint was the original suspect because many times, when examining people with painful symptoms, the jaw joint was noticed to make a clicking, popping, or grinding noise. So where there is smoke, there has to be fire, right? Incorrect! When healthy people with no symptoms were examined, their TM joints made the same sounds at roughly the same rate as people with pain. So it’s not always the joint.

Another thing that is touted as a cause of symptoms is an improper bite or malocclusion, which causes stress on the TM joint leading to symptoms. And while it is true that a bad bite can cause the ligaments surrounding the joint to stretch or stretch, this may not be the cause. There are many cases of people who do not have teeth and do not wear their dentures without a history of pain. The same can be said for people with many missing teeth or severely misaligned jaws.

So if it’s not the joint and it’s not the bite, what could be causing all this discomfort? Just muscle spasms. And muscle spasms are the result of physical or psychological stress. There is a vast complex of nerves throughout the head, and spasms can cause referred pain anywhere along these nerve branches.

The end result is a very painful situation, but the good news is that there can be some very easy ways to get relief and break the cycle of pain. The key to relief lies in finding the source of your pain. As I mentioned earlier, pain can be caused by stressors, whether physical or psychological, so let’s alleviate some of these:

1. First, and perhaps the simplest key, is to make sure you are adequately hydrated. Although water consumption has increased, very few people drink 8 glasses of water a day. And many experts believe that each soda, coffee, or alcoholic beverage cancels out an equal amount of water. How does dehydration lead to facial pain associated with TMJ? Well, the right amount of water helps flush out toxins, lactic acid, and the by-products of muscle activity. A buildup of these toxins in the facial muscles can cause fatigued muscles to spasm or prevent them from relaxing. So baby!
2. Many patients report increased discomfort when they wake up in the morning that ends up causing a headache or neck pain throughout the day. If the pain is more severe on one side of your face or neck, it may be due to your position or sleeping habits. If you sleep on your side or rest your jaw on one hand resting on the pillow while you sleep, the muscles on that side of your face will stretch. The joint on the opposite side of the face will move into the socket painfully. Therefore, the muscles on the side next to the pillow will try to contract to return to their “resting length” and relieve pain in the socket on the opposite side. Many times, simply noticing this problem and changing your sleeping position will alleviate the symptoms.
3. If you wake up with pain on both sides of your head or face, or if your teeth hurt or loosen, you are probably clenching or bruising in your sleep. Many dentists will prescribe a bite guard for this, but this really only serves to protect the teeth and provide a cushion for the joint. Muscle spasms remain.
4. If stress is brought to bed, it will be resolved with night squeezes. The key here is to find something to soothe and relax you before you go to sleep. A hot bath, an herbal tea, or a glass of wine are helpful to start the relaxation process. Take your hat off your worries 30 minutes before you plan to go to bed and make a promise to think only of pleasant past experiences.
5. Your facial muscle spasms have a focus, locate the focus and begin to eliminate the pain. TMJ pain does not spread evenly over the affected area of ​​the head and neck. Some areas will be more painful than others and one place will be the most painful of all. To find the focal point, start pressing along the painful areas of your face. Start in the lowest area of ​​pain and work your way up to the top of your head. One area will feel extremely sensitive to the touch – this is the focal point. You can focus your relief effort on this spot and the rest of the pain will go away. Start by putting a warm compress on the area for about 20 minutes and then massage the area with your thumb. Apply maximum pressure and move in circular motions. Then finish with something like Ben Gay or Icy Hot. Break the muscle spasm at the focal point and the rest of the muscles will relax.

And finally, just a point of common sense. The more you exercise and use your facial muscles during your daily activities, the more likely you are to spasm while you sleep and develop more intense symptoms. So if you’ve ever experienced any discomfort, then chewing gum is definitely a no-no. And even if you haven’t, don’t leave a gum in your mouth for more than 20 minutes. Most foods eaten in moderation will not cause any problems, but you will want to avoid chewing ice, hard candy, and if the crusts are causing a problem, they will need to be cut. Also, tongue and lip jewelry lead to parafunctional habits that will cause spasms of the head and neck muscles. Then those will have to leave.

If you need more information on TMJ symptom pain relief, this is an excellent resource. It is also very important to remember that if you do not notice improvement in your symptoms for several weeks, you should seek professional advice.

You won’t wake up one morning and be completely pain free, but you should notice a slight improvement each day. These common sense ideas should ease TMJ symptoms over time, and being pain free will be great!