5 Simple Ways To Ease The Pain of a TMJ Disorder at Home
Have you ever experienced pain in your jaw when you try eating or speaking? Well then, you could be suffering from a Temporomandibular Joint disorder. This little sliding hinge joint that connects your jawbone to the skull may be small but it can cause huge suffering. TMJ disorders are complex and their causes can be manifold.
While in severe TMJ cases, you’ll need to seek medical advice and consider the possibility of medication or surgery, here are a few simple pain relief measures you can try at home first :
Watch What You Eat
Start by easing pressure on your jaw by altering your food choices. Opt for soft food as opposed to crunchy or chewy treats. Think mashed potatoes, applesauce and soup. If you are going to eat hard food such as raw carrots or crunchy biscuits try to cut them into tiny pieces or take smaller bites. Bear in mind that sticky or chewy foods, especially chewing gum, can aggravate your TMJ disorder to try to limit these.
Try Natural Pain Relief Solutions
There are plenty of natural pain relievers that are known to assist in tension relief so you’ll have to try a few to see which one works for you. Popular natural alternatives include passionflower, catnip and St.John’s Wort, many of which can be brewed into tea. Although its use is a little controversial CBD oil may also help.
EXPLORE HEAT/COLD THERAPIES
Both hot and cold therapies are known to alleviate joint pain. Heat therapy, through the use of a heat pack or wrap, will improve circulation. On the other hand, cold therapy, such as the use of an ice pack, or even a packet of frozen peas, will help numb pain, which in turn reduces inflammation and swelling. Just hold the heat/cold pack on the sight of pain for a few minutes and let the elements do their thing.
ADJUST YOUR SLEEPING POSITION
The average person spends around a third of their day asleep, so your sleeping position is likely to be the cause of many aches and pains in the body. When it comes to your TMJ, sleeping on your side often causes your jaw to fall out of line. You can try using pillows to stop you rolling onto your side during the night.
Give Yoga A Go The tension eliminating qualities of yoga are undeniable and the poses really help you relax. Tension is one of the major causes of TMJ disorders so the less tense you are the less likely you are to suffer from these conditions. Focus on specific yoga poses which target the specific joint and fingers crossed you’ll feel some relief. Also, yoga relieves stress in general which has so many wide health benefits.
Of course, like with many conditions, TMJ disorders can cause varying degrees of pain. Sometimes it’s a minor inconvenience that will fade away given time and on the other end of the spectrum, TMJ disorders can be absolutely debilitating, causing untold suffering and having knock-on health consequences too. Luckily, you can use some simple methods to try and relieve the pain but if you find that none of those does the trick, don’t hesitate to seek professional medical help.
Give Yoga A Go
The tension eliminating qualities of yoga are undeniable and the poses really help you relax. Tension is one of the major causes of TMJ disorders so the less tense you are the less likely you are to suffer from these conditions. Focus on specific yoga poses which target the specific joint and fingers crossed you’ll feel some relief. Also, yoga relieves stress in general which has so many wide health benefits.
Of course, like with many conditions, TMJ disorders can cause varying degrees of pain. Sometimes it’s a minor inconvenience that will fade away given time and on the other end of the spectrum, TMJ disorders can be absolutely debilitating, causing untold suffering and having knock-on health consequences too. Luckily, you can use some simple methods to try and relieve the pain but if you find that none of those does the trick, don’t hesitate to seek professional medical help.
