Over 35 million Americans suffer from TMJ, which stands for Temporomandibular Disorder and is basically a collection of poorly understood conditions presented as pain or discomfort in the jaw and surrounding tissues and limitations in the jaw movements. Certain injuries or other physical conditions such as arthritis may have an effect on the temporomandibular joints, effectively impairing a person's ability to speak, eat, swallow, and even breathe.
Other conditions may overlap with TMJ, resulting in additional discomfort. Chronic fatigue, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, hypermobility, irritable bowel syndrome, and sleep disorders are among the other conditions which may appear in conjunction with TMJ. TMJ disorders are normally highly complex, involving hormonal and genetic influences as well as numerous other biological factors.
The largest demographic of TMJ sufferers are women of childbearing age. Pain is usually the most common symptom, usually presenting as a dull ache in the lower jaw accompanied by difficulty in using the joint. People suffering from TMJ may also experience neck or shoulder pain, migraines, stiffness in the jaw or locking of the jaw, a popping or grating in the jaw when opening or closing the mouth, a bite that feels off center, tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
Some people may experience noise when opening or closing their jaw, but it is only TMJ if there is pain accompanying the sound. Almost everyone experiences some discomfort in the jaw area from time to time, and it is not always indicative of a disorder. Even some TMJ sufferers improve without treatment, with the problem slowly correcting itself over a period of weeks or months.
Diagnosis of TMJ disorders is not always easy, because facial pain can be the result of a number of factors, sinus infections, decayed or abscessed teeth, headaches, or facial neuralgia. At the present time, there is no standardized test to accurately identify and diagnose all TMJ conditions.
TMJ is usually diagnosed after all other possibilities have been eliminated. The process of elimination is a slow one, consisting of trips to multiple healthcare providers such as your primary care physician, your dentist, ENT, neurologist, endocrinologist, pain specialists, and chiropractor (among others).
TMJ has no known specific cause; however it can be traced to injuries or trauma to the jaw area, arthritis, some dental treatments, infections, or auto-immune diseases. TMJ patients may also exhibit other chronic pain conditions.
TMJ disorders may improve over time, or if left untreated, may worsen, becoming long term and even debilitating problems.
The treatment for TMJ is usually simple common sense care, such as eating soft foods, applying ice or heat to the area, and avoiding extreme jaw movements such as yawning (not easy to do), singing, or chewing gum. More intensive treatments may be prescribed, but there is no scientific basis for this approach and such treatment may actually serve to make the problem worse. You should definitely avoid surgical treatment for the problem as there have been no long term studies to conclusively prove that such procedures are safe and effective.
As mentioned earlier, some conditions may overlap with TMJ symptoms. It is unknown why these conditions overlap, some people may suffer from two conditions, while others from three or even more. Or one condition may be apparent for several years before another appears. TMJ is rarely a stand alone issue.
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