Is it dangerous to exercise if you have TMJ? - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

MKULTRA · 03-23-2006, 01:20 PM

If you have TMJ, and pain in your temple/head area, is it "dangerous" to work out? I play hockey and one thing I have noticed for years is that I get very bad headaches that set in about 1 to 2 hours after I play. I just figured it was due to my family's migraine history but the more I read about TNJ, the more I think I may have it.

I've never been officially diagnosed with TMJ, but I am going to my Dentist next week to see if he can find anything out. I'm also going to a Neurologist next week to see about the headaches. I had an MRI on my brain for the dizziness about a year ago but the results were negative.

Here are my symptoms -

-Constant headaches stemming from the back of my neck that go up into the top of the head and down over my left eye
-Constant pain on left side of jaw
-Constant "cold" feeling pain in left temple area
-"Cold" shooting feelings in the left side of my head
-Occassional ringing in ears
-Sore, "hoarse" feeling throat
-Constant sinus infections
-Feeling of "lump" in throat
-Lightheaded feeling (was really bad about a year ago - it was happening everyday)
-Constant fatigue
-Constant neck stiffness and need to keep stretching/cracking neck
-Sore left shoulder
-"tinning" feeling in left ear
-"chills" feeling on left side of my scalp on occassion.

I also have extremely flat feet which are very overpronated. I'm having Subtalar MBA implants installed later this year to correct that.

Anytime I have major head pain, it freaks me out. And when I have some pain in my temple, it TOTALLY freaks me out. Are there any other athletes on this board who have similar pain? If so, have you let TMJ slow you down?

navymid · 03-23-2006, 03:58 PM

i am in the military and an athlete as well and since I injured my TMJ, I have been unable to train and do strenuous exercise, which is very frustrating. When I work out, my jaw locks closed to where I can't even open it to breathe. There is also an unbearable pain in my left TMJ(the one I injured). I have spoken with several drs about this problem and they all said the same thing- to do what I can until it hurts or locks, but once it does, then stop. I get frustrated when I can't work out a lot, so on several occassions, I have continued to work out even after the pain, which as it ended up, really did make my jaw worse. However, I am now set to have open joint and they told me to do whatever I wanted to right now because it won't get worse before the surgery.
It really does stink to have TMJ and be an athlete because it will slow you down and puts you behind. This has been a HUGE issue for me and is very frustrating.

MKULTRA · 03-24-2006, 12:05 PM

Hmm....mine doesn't sounds as bad as yours...yet, anyway. My jaw just feels really tired, especially on the left side. And my left temple is sore. I'm just freaked out about having a brain anerysm or something like that (I know, even though i had an MRI last year, I'm still paranoid). I talked to my Dentist yesterday and he said that the exercise may actually make it feel better because the muscles are getting worked out. Who knows....I have a game on Sunday, so I guess I'll find out!

rubato · 03-28-2006, 05:42 AM

I run, lift, and even jump on my trampoline with tmj. Hockey's a pretty rough sport though (or at least it can be). Be careful. I agree that you just go until you start to feel the pain, then quit. I have found that when I'm having a really bad spell, wearing my night guard while I work out can help. I also just keep my mind focused on not clenching (which is what I naturally do when lifting). Good luck!

MKULTRA · 03-28-2006, 06:22 PM

I actually played the other night and it wasn't so bad. I could "feel" it but after I got going I more or less forgot about it. And the strange thing was that I didn't get a headache afterward. Weird.

But here I am, a week and a half into it and it still is sore. It felt a lot better yesterday and today, although at the moment I have a splitting headache. But the jaw feels slightly better.