TMJ Relief and Remedies for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

The following are some tips for TMJ relief. If you have really tried and the TMJ treatment suggested here don't give you TMJ pain relief, you may have to seek help from a TMJ specialist.

What is TMJ syndrome or temporomandibular joint dysfunction? What are the causes of TMJ disorder? What are TMJ symptoms?

TMJ is the misalignment of your temporomandibular joint. The temporomandibular joint is the joint at the jaw that connects the lower jaw or the mandible to the upper jaw or temporal bone of the skull. Together with the muscles and ligaments, the joint makes it possible for your mouth to open, close and move forward, backward and sideways.

There are various causes that can lead to the misalignment of the joint and result in a TMJ disorder. Among them are abnormalities of the teeth, teeth grinding or bruxism, stress, damage to the joint cartilage by arthritis and erosion of the disk that keeps the lower jawbone from rubbing against the skull.

Symptoms of TMJ

1. The jaw makes clicking sound when you open your mouth
   
   
   
2. Having difficulty opening your mouth
   
   
   
3. Having difficulty and followed by pain when chewing, yawning and opening the mouth wide
   
   
   
4. TMJ pain such as pain in or around the ear, facial pain, neck pain or shoulder pain
   
   
   
5. Headache especially in the morning

Using any of the alternative healing method mentioned below may provide TMJ relief.

Emotional freedom technique or EFT tapping method

You may have heard about acupuncture where needles are inserted in certain points on the body to relieve pain. Emotional freedom technique or also known as EFT tapping is what some people term as emotional acupuncture. It is a healing method aimed at releasing emotional and physical pains by tapping with the fingers on certain energy or meridian points. This method does not require the use on needles and you can do it yourself.

Watch this video on how EFT tapping has helped treat a woman with tightness in the jaw and then head over to the EFT Tapping Insiders Club to find out more about EFT.

Stress reduction exercise

Over the counter pain relievers may provide temporary TMJ relief but if you want to cure TMJ, you should let go of tension and stress. This is because one of the causes of TMJ syndrome is a high level of stress. When you are stressful, your muscles are tensed. You may tend to clench, grind your teeth or subconsciously do things that cause muscle tension.

Stress reduction exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation, self-hypnosis, guided imagery, yoga and meditation can help provide TMJ relief. If you are unfamiliar with the relaxation exercises, you can join a class or purchase a DVD that you can follow along.

A stress reduction exercise that you can start right away and make it a habit to do it daily is progressive muscle relaxation.

1. Sit or lie down comfortably. Relax your body completely. Think of relaxing each muscle in your body completely starting from your toes and moving up to your scalp. Imagine the tension flowing out of your body.
   
   
   
2. Breathe deeply and slowly from your stomach through your nose. Slowly release your breath through your mouth counting from one to ten. As you repeat the breathing exercise, feel yourself feeling more relaxed.

When you are in a deeply relaxed state of mind, your brainwave slows down, changes and move to the alpha level. In the alpha level, your brain will accept new instructions without resistance. This is the time to start visualizing the outcome that you want to experience and in this case what you want is TMJ relief. Including positive affirmations will help a lot. Affirm statements such as "I choose to heal myself. I choose to feel energized, alive and filled with radiant health."

Massage therapy

Massage therapy is also a helpful TMJ treatment to provide TMJ relief. The common massage techniques used for TMJ pain relief are the acupressure, cranial sacral therapy, neuromuscular therapy, post isometric relaxation and the Swedish massage. A massage therapist will focus on relaxing your muscles, reducing the tension of the muscles in your jaw area, improving circulation and restoring misaligned bones.

Temporary TMJ relief

Meanwhile, these two TMJ remedy will provide temporary TMJ pain relief.

1. Use a hot pad or hot water bottle and place it on your aching jaw, neck or shoulder muscles. If heat doesn't work for you, try a cold compress instead.
   
   
   
2. Take any over the counter analgesic or pain reliever to reduce the inflammation.

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