Posted by sooshi on May 21, 2004, at 11:44:39
In reply to TMJ misery, posted by partlycloudy on May 21, 2004, at 8:22:31
Hi partlycloudy, me again....
Since posting to you last time, I think I've found something that has REALLY helped me. I've been going to a chair massage therapist for 15 minute massages as often as possible. Since I can't afford full back or body massages, I just go get the head/neck massages. If you tell him/her exactly what the problem is, they will focus in on those muscles. My therapist is very thourough(sp?), massaging every muscle on my scalp, around and even IN my ears, my face, jaws, neck and shoulders. Then she does some stretching of my head/neck area. Oh my gosh, this has really helped!
Also, I've found that if the meds I take dry out my mouth, I will tend to grind or clench my teeth more, so try to keep really hydrated.
Is your mouth guard hard or soft? Every time I tried a hard mouth piece, I tended to grind on it and ended up with even angrier jaw muscles, but at least with the softer ones, there was some "give", and the muscles didn't get as tense. I also had a mouth piece that I wore all day, but really, anything I put in my mouth just irritates me, and I end up biting down on it or chewing it, which makes it worse.
Well, hope I haven't made you more confused! Good luck!
poster:sooshi
thread:349146
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20040303/msgs/349239.html