5 Ways to Manage TMJ Pain With Therapy

Do you have a TMJ disorder? You don't have to suffer in silence from TMJ pain. There are many medical and therapeutic solutions to treat your TMJ disorder. Your doctor will most probably prescribe you medicine to ease the pain or suggest surgery for severe TMJ cases.

There are alternatives available other than pain relievers and surgery. New breakthroughs in TMJ pain research have shown that TMJ therapy can offer pain relief and may even lessen the pain to the point that surgery will no longer be necessary.

It's important that you see a specialist who can lay out several treatment options for you. If you decide that TMJ therapy is the way to go, get your doctor's advice on how to go about it. Your doctor will suggest changes to your diet and exercise, which will tremendously help manage TMJ pain.

Here are some forms of TMJ therapy that you doctor may suggest:

繚 Stress management- One of the factors that contribute to TMJ pain is stress. When we are stressed out, we tend to clench our jaw muscles, grind our teeth at night, and tighten our facial and jaw muscles, which put an impact on our TMJ joints. As part of your TMJ therapy, consider signing up for yoga classes. The breathing techniques that yoga teaches can help you cope with stress in ways that will not lead to TMJ pain.

繚 Stretching- Your dentist or a physical therapist can prepare some stretching exercises for you to help relax, repair, and rebuild the muscles and joints in the jaw.

繚 Soft Diet- The TMJ or temporomandibular joint is one of the more overused muscles because we use them frequently, and especially when we chew and talk. Your doctor will suggest a soft diet and advise you against chewing gum. By doing these, you rest your muscles, thus minimizing their wear and tear and allowing them to heal themselves. Your meals will typically include cooked vegetables and fruit, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, scrambled egg, smoothies, soup, and yogurt. If you must eat food that needs to be chewed, make sure you cut it in smaller pieces and try to chew gently.

繚 Dietary Changes- Your doctor may also advise you to avoid food that may aggravate your TMJ pain. Some no-nos are food that is rich in sugar, yeast, and preservatives, as well as those with a lot of vitamin C and iron. Your doctor will also encourage you to cut back on salicylates (jams, jellies, and juices are rich in salicylates), wheat, and dairy, and advise you to eat more red and organ meat, moderate amounts of saturated fat, and broth from animal bones and tendons, which contain hyaluronic acid, which is great for joint health.

繚 Posture improvements- If your work involves sitting in front of a computer all day, try to be mindful of your posture. Make it a point not to be in the same position for a long time. Rest your hands and arms to relieve your stressed muscles.

Take charge of your TMJ pain and continue to find ways to manage it. You'll find that medication plus TMJ therapy can help tremendously in alleviating your pain.