After 2 years of work I have overcome most of my CMD problems from exercise including Pilates and Ashtanga Yoga, and now working out in the gym as well.
In the process I have found that sports injurries 20 years ago were the causitive factors and not just stress or clenching as the dentists favour.
If you have CMD type problems I wonder what the likleyhood is that you have dislocated a shoulder or ruptured your ankle on the same side as your problems many moons ago?
These old problems feed up through the body and finally into your posture and jaw/neck muscles. In my case my badly sprained ankle is exceptionaly weak, my inner calf muscle works way too hard to compensate, my lower lumbar L4 L5 is wekened through stress injury, feeding up through the spine and into my neck and jaw.
My thoracic spine is also affected by a dislocated left shoulder so my shoulder girdle muscles are weakened causing shoulder blade winging.
The very small muscles supporting the upper thoracic spine are working extra hard to support instability one or two are in constant spasm. This spasm feeds into the central nervous system and is recognized as sommatasensory tinnitus, a muscle spasm feeding into the audio channel.
A lot of people with CMD/TMJ get tinnitus which varries from day to day, in my opinion it's not comming from the jaw or tmj joint at all but the small muscles (multifidious?) supporting the spine as I have mentioned. Massage these muscles in spasm and the tinnitus gets worse (only slightly) the same day then it goes quieter the next. Treatment and effect. Have a hot bath and the tinnitus goes quiet, so the spasm is decreased as the muscles relax.
So my main point is put aside what the dentists tell you (unless you have an injurry to your tmj causing issues) and look to what's going on lower down in your body. Some dentists dismiss physio's all together, I feel they are pushing their barrell and commercial interests, which is plainly wrong. ie. tmj splints, which may settle the facial muscles down initially then start to cause more problems. Bin them!
If you've buggered your ankle or shoulder get to the gym or yoga studio and start working. You'll fix your problems but it takes time..
Good for you, for getting over the majority of your pain/problems. BTW.......You've made some very good points. When one is dealing with TMJD, the whole body needs to be addressed..........as the primary problem may be coming from elsewhere.
Last edited by CherylLynn24; 12-28-2005 at 02:44 PM.
Very interesting posts... Does anyone believe or know anything about "weak joints" This is what I try to explain to my doctors, but they seem to think i'm crazy. I firmly believe that somehow all of my joints are just plain weak, which is why they slip out of place and dislocate. For example, I dislocated my shoulder when I was young, and the doctor sent me to physical therapy to strengthen my arms/shoulders. I've always felt my shoulders being "loose" also my wrists..and even hip joint pops at times. Anwyays, is there any such thing as somoene having just plain old loose joints? and can this have also caused the jaw dislocation?
I could only think of hypermobility in your joints as a possible explanation to your observations. With hypermobility ones joints are too flexible or lax; you're born with it. In my case I inherited it off my mum.
If this is your condition, which is not serious at all, you need to get down to the gym pronto as you get older, because a hypermobile joint needs extra muscular strength to compensate.
This hypermobility will also include your jaw joints so a poor posture will feed into the jaw/neck and cause problems.
The very small muscles supporting the upper thoracic spine are working extra hard to support instability one or two are in constant spasm. This spasm feeds into the central nervous system and is recognized as sommatasensory tinnitus, a muscle spasm feeding into the audio channel.
Sorry for me perhaps beeing dumb, but could you please try to explain where more exactly these small muscles can be found. Can you advice me how to pinpoint these muscles on myself.
I see a massage specialist who is bit of a magician and when he finds the muscle in spasm it hurts. But basically they lie along the side or running close to the top surface of the spine and feel relatively deep. I think he said once that the problem lies around T8, which is just in the mid upper back in line with the lower end of the shoulder blades. (and on the side of your tmd problems)
I have trouble finding the sore muscle myself but but my specialist puts his elbow on the spot and there's a TENDER bit I didn't know about at first! (does that explain it?)
Hint; If you look for a massage person try to find one who works with dancers, ring the local ballet company and ask who looks after them. Someone will know the right person to see.
Mr. Cumberpatch
Last edited by Mr. Cumberpatch; 12-30-2005 at 01:11 AM.
I tried using a tennis ball in between the shoulder blades and found this illusive knot quite easily, so press up and down on it with the tennis ball and see what happens. I do notice my tinnitus raising up and ear feeling strange again (not having felt so for ages) so I am convinced this knot in the multifidus muscles is the culprit.
I tried using a tennis ball in between the shoulder blades and found this illusive knot quite easily, so press up and down on it with the tennis ball and see what happens. I do notice my tinnitus raising up and ear feeling strange again (not having felt so for ages) so I am convinced this knot in the multifidus muscles is the culprit.
Have fun
Mr. Cumberpatch
Interesting, I will get a tennis ball a.s.a.p and try that out.
In a nutshell for the past 1.5yrs my left jaw has been giving me grief. Basically my symptoms are cannot open as wide, cannot bring my jaw forward to bite my nails anymore and I have mobility problems and my speech now and then annoys me because its hard to pronounce comfortably certain letters in words as I dont have the jaw flow. I dont have any pain though just stiffness and if i was to force my jaw open wide or forward to bite my teeth I think I may cause myself lots of pain.. the way it is is manageable but I know I can do better....
Now I was going to say about knots! I can never enjoy a back or neck massage anymore!! I think I have about 3-4 knots in total but boy are they annoying when I run my hand over them... I know that I have gained these knots in my back due to the stress about my jaw in the 1.5yrs because prior to this I enjoyed every massage I had!
Im hoping that once I get the courage to get rid of these knots in my neck and back it will perhaps relieve some of the tension that I get in my jaw.....or am I way off thinking this?
Im just thinking by relieving and treating other parts of the body I may notice results with my jaw...
I have had tmj . What is weird about this when someone gives me a massage or sometimes just touch my arm or leg.. my ears will crackle and pop. Does anyone know what the deal is with this experience or does this happen to you? I can play a song almost just in a massage in my ears.
