HEALING TMJ/TMD - TEMPORO MANDIBULAR JOINT DISORDERS ON YOUR OWN? ITS POSSIBLE! THE DO'S & DON'TS...

'Managing' is the right word!

Sometimes, we go about our daily life gleefully, everything is good. But then, suddenly, something happens that you never ever imagined. Not in your wildest dreams. You are amazed that such a thing could ever occur. That there's even such a possibility. And when it happens to you, you are like - has it only happened to you? Am I the only one who is suffering from this. You make a mad search in the internet to see if there's anyone else on this planet that might have faced it too. And, finally, after lot of googling you heave a sigh of relief - no, you haven't found the cure. You are just happy that you are not the only one. You discover an entire community almost, who's going through the same - and are at different phases or stages. You follow their experiences and advices. Try to see what you can adapt and what to reject. For me, any physical intrusion ( examination or surgery ) by doctor is a complete no-no, so, I go about searching the whole internet upside down to see if anyone got any relief naturally.

So, what happened actually? It was just few days after I reached my native home. I had done a cross-country road trip, and was exhausted from it. Too tired and lazy to unpack, I went to sleep. So, on my right side the air-cooler blew air directly into my right ear. I tried to block the air out - by using the wrong ear plug instead. There are two kinds of ear plugs that I use. Foam ones when I sleep, and, the silicon ones when I'm out on walks. I was too lazy to take out my foam ear plugs, and ended up positioning the silicon one into my right ear. And here it went so wrong. Silicon ones are hard, and during sleep movements it pushed the soft cartilage disk ( I discovered this only later ) that sits in the jaw joints right in midde of front ear - behind that flap ( called tragus ) you see near the face and ears.



The next moring I yelled out in pain. My entire right face was paining severely. Of course at the time I didn't know what had happened. I thought, I might have some tooth problem - so, applied clove oil in my teeth. No respite. And I didn't really have any teeth or gum problems as such. For long time I couldn't fathom what went wrong. I was just fine till that night I arrived. Only after I rewinded all the events did I reach the culprit - that could be those silicon ear plugs. But the damage was done. Something bad had already happened and I was in excruciating pain. I searched on google causes of face pain. I also noticed, that the back of my ear, somewhere inside, felt bit heavy too. I included that too in my searches. It was then that I came across the term TMJ/TMD. I could finally grasp what actually might have happened. Why my face was paining so bad especially my right cheeks so much.

So, it happened, while I was sleeping the cartilege disc got displaced ( pushed behind ) by those silicone ( grrr... ) plugs that pressed against the tragus of my ear, pulling the tendons that were in turn attached to the muscles in my cheeks. Thus, the pain. Because my muscles got pulled. It all made sense. But, I would never go to any doctor, so, tried my 'self-ilaaz' like I always do. I somewhat succeeded when I had a leg issue not long ago, so, I guess it was time to tackle this problem my way too. After a few trial and error efforts, I found certain things that helped me 'manage' ( not cure ) this condition. Here, I'd also like to mention that in my case the cartilege had slipped into my throat and had blocked my breathing for some time. I pushed, till I swallowed it. Yes, I swallowed it. Because either that or die...it was stuck somewhere in my throat and I could feel it blocking the air. So, its safe to say, its not trapped behind my ears anymore. But my tendons are still pushed, stretching my face muscles and I have that typical popping/clicking sound in my jaw ( a regular symptom of TMJ to suggest the cartilege is not in its place anymore ) when I open and close my mouth.


hi there...


So, here's how to manage a TMJ(D), my way. What works for me may not work for others, so, do consult an expert. Here are mine :-)

1. Don't move your face too much. Keep it closed and don't talk moving the jaw too much.

2. Don't eat hard things - nuts or fruits. Try soften them before eating.

3. Always be chin-down and not chin-up. Keep your chin pressed closer to your throat rather than keeping it the air, which stretches the muscles and tendons. Earlier when I didn't know, it pulled at my jaw pretty bad, and nearly deshaped few teeth from their position ( ripping the gum a bit - it was bloody painful ). Keeping chin-down has helped prevent further damage.

4. Don't turn your face to the opposite side of the disorder. If you have problem in the right jaw joint, avoid turning your face frequently to left and vice versa.

5. If you have the cartilege still stuck - you might try doing some jaw exercises recommended by TMJ experts. However, in my case, I swallowed my cartilege, so, it didn't help anymore. I did try clicking my teeth together every few minutes to get them used to their new positions.

6. For facial muscle pain, close your fist and rub the knuckles in clockwise and anti-clockwise movements around your cheeks to loosen the fascia layer of your muscle. It gets entangled resulting in pain. The smooth massaging helped in reiieving my pain.

P.S : I myself would not go to any doctor, as this condition doesn't really have a cure as such; unless, surgically the jaw is pushed back to its place. I would not do it, but, if you prefer to go that way, don't hesitate. For me, my methods are keeping my pain away ( and its still a 'work in progress' - it might go either way in future - better or worse ), and I'm happy with that for the time being; also, I'm aware my jaw will never be the same again.



TMD, TMJD are a group of conditions that affect the jaw joints, muscles, and nerves that control jaw movement with symptoms like Pain in the jaw, face, shoulder, neck, or back, headaches, earaches, limited mouth motion, jaw clicking, popping, or locking.