Thursday, 22 March 2012

TMJ pain?!

I was hoping some of you fellow bloggers may be able to help me with something. Recently I've been getting these sharp shooting pains in my temple, but also in other parts of my skull, and sometimes even spreading into parts of my face and neck. Does this sound like TMJ pain to you? I have noticed my jaw aching more recently so I'm wondering if this is what is causing the pains. It's weird because it's not like a normal headache and seems to move around to different parts of my head.
Posted by

6 comments:

  1. Max22 March 2012 at 07:32

    Hey Sarah, I don't know whether you are having TMJ pain or not. I have never had pain in my temples, but I can tell you that my neck pain is caused by the muscle that is connected from the jaw to the neck. People with overbites tend to push their lower jaws forward when speaking and this creates a pull in that muscle, which can be painful over time. Neck pain can also be caused by poor posture or tension if you're jutting out your head in any way to compensate for the skeletal imbalance. I've gone to a chiropractor to help me with my pain and it's a huge relief! My neck is currently kinesio taped, which has also helped a lot. I hope you feel better!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. BleedingOrchid22 March 2012 at 08:53

    Hi Sarah,
    Do you suffer at all from bad headaches, even migraines? The reason I ask is because I do suffer from terrible migraines and sometimes I get what is called 'icepick' headaches where I feel like someone stabbing me a few times in my temple then stops, and is incredibly random. It sounds similar to what your describing... but it could be a number of things in play as well... I hope you can find out whats causing it.
    :/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rosa22 March 2012 at 09:34

    it's so hard to tell if headaches and neck aches are related to your jaw! I've been wondering the same thing because I have had pain in the top of my neck and in my temples on and off since I was tiny, but my orthodontist said it probably wasn't caused by my jaw, and a cyropractor I went to said it almost definately was!! I so hope it gets better after the surgery it would make a massive difference to me becuase I always seem to be canceling things and being held back by horrible headaches and migraines!!
    My advice is ibroprophen and paracetamol and if it's reeeeeeally bad codiene:) and also if it's a migraine and you also feel sick with it, migraleve!! I hope your headaches aren't too bad xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ellie22 March 2012 at 10:31

    Hi Sarah! I have a lot of pain like that which is TMJ pain. I'll get shooting pains in my temple or in my ear, and often have an aching feeling or burning pain in my face, particularly in my cheek area. I'll also get a "headache" in the very back of my head, and my neck and shoulders are often tense. For me, it's all from TMJ and the way the rest of my body tries to compensate for the misalignment of my jaw. With your bite shifting with the brace, it wouldn't be unlikely if it's also putting some strain on your joints. But I'm no doctor, so if it's bad, you might want to talk to your ortho about it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Laura22 March 2012 at 20:22

    Most likely it is the muscles that move your jaw spasming because they are trying adapt to your new teeth position. we use those muscles allll day long (every time we swallow= hundreds of times a day). If one muscle is off on one side of your head it can affect the totally opposite muscles on the other side, even in your neck.

    I have definitely noticed an increase in this type of pain since getting my braces. Especially since braces before jaw surgery move your teeth into a weird position, your teeth will have a hard time trying to find a comfortable position to come together.

    I hope the pain subsides for you quickly!
    -Laura

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sarah26 March 2012 at 05:39

    Thank you all so much for your comments, they have been really helpful.

    BleedingOrchid, the icepick headaches you describe definitely feel like what I've been getting, and Ellie, my symptoms sound very similar to yours.

    It's not really causing me terrible pain, I mainly just wanted to know if it was caused by TMJ to rule out the possibility of it beign a sign of something more serious. Having read your comments and done a bit of research, I'm 95% sure that my symptoms are TMJ related, but I've got a doctor's app on Wednesday morning (before an ortho appointment). I've got no idea whether my doctor will know anything about TMJ, and I'm not going to mention it until he's given his view, in case he thinks it could be something else.

    Thanks again for all your help!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)