The long and winding road
 

Hi been 2years now since tmj and muscle spasm put life on hold. Now got new dentures which feel good apart from aggravation of wisdom tooth attraction site . Need a lot of adjustments. Left side of jaw very tender as nerve irritated and got tinnitus. I know once under control things will get better. Has done before. A lot of irritation ceems to been from neck muscles also. What does anyone else do for muscle spasm and nerve irritation. Regards nick

Hey there Nick!

Have you tried acupuncture for relief of the neck and nerve irritation?

Bryanna

The long and winding road
 

Thanks for reply. Yes do acupuncture. Now that pain improved but other muscles very painful. Had no back teeth and have been using front ones two years now. Had denture checked and occlusion ok. Seems my last lot of dentures worn down to pink bit was being used at an angle to chew. So back of mouth muscles not been used till now. What's going on with pain. Are the muscles protesting ?if so does it take long to re adjust. getting spasm in temporal is back of head and Maeterl muscles that I know about. Driving makes it worse with pain in thoracic .thanks nick.

Hi Nick,

The fact that you had no posterior occlusion for 2 years and now have it ..... your muscles don't know what to make of this! The muscles affected may not be just in the back of the jaw. They could include the jaw, neck, head, upper chest/back, etc. and most likely they became lax. It is also possible that there is a bit of collapse or deterioration in the anatomy of your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) which would attribute to all sorts of muscle aches, pains and strains.

I think it's possible that what you are doing at this point is you are forcing your traumatized muscles and tmj to work really hard and they are rebelling. The muscles need to become gradually adapted to be used again. So this may mean working with someone like a Chiropractor (possible cranial sacral therapy??) both with the dentures in and without them.

What are your thoughts?
Bryanna

The long and winding roadblocks ?
 

Hi Bryanna, I think you are spot on . Obviously was getting bother before with tmj but seems to be about muscles now. They also cause tinnitus. When I got the new dentures I notices my posture change immediate.y and also that my bite was level, but as I say muscles bi a bit of a state in face niece head back and chest. During the summer had cold laser therapy that helped but with no teeth at back it was impossible to get any sustainability. The last two years have taken its toll and have really quite traumatised which is the last thing you need for a jaw problem. When I put dentures in I notice jaw confused about what to do and it takes a while for occlusion to settle. I can feel muscles almost fighting one another. Being pulled one way then another. Must have shower in morning and also at night to try to get some relaxing in them. Neck muscles also join in with this. Anyway have been putting dentures in and out , using hot packers cold packers medication , some exercise. I do see cranial Sarah therapist also. Do you think osteopathy also ? Do you think the way forward I am using is a good one ? Thanks for your time on this . Much appreciated. Regards Nick

Hi Nick,

Well thanks for the acknowledgement ;)

You have hit it right on the head too.... your jaw is confused!! Exactly! The muscles are wondering what the heck you expect them to do with this thing.

I think you should choose a therapy ..... work with that for awhile... a few months .... and see if things improve. Depending on how things feel at that point, you can either continue with that therapy or move onto something else. It is going to take a long time to work this out and the last thing you want to do is confuse the muscles more or push them to work too hard. You are retraining them while they are in a fragile state. You have certain expectations that you want to achieve, like comfortable functionality while wearing the dentures, but it is going to take time and persistence.

Which one brings you more relief.... hot OR cold packs?

Bryanna

The long and winding road.
 

Hi Bryanna, jaw tends to like hot packs however sometimes cold packs. Today not good as had stressful events yesterday so jaw muscles kicked in harder. Tinnitus went up, nevertheless am optomistic as I amd 99.9% certain I know whats going on , so I reckon treatment is as you suggested , plus stress mangement What can you tell by the preference for hot packs ? I had my ears microsuctioned in hospital 2 weeks ago . It was very painful as inflammed , jaw muscle clamped up then also. A week ago my doctor said still inflammed and been having ear drum flutter and a bit twitching in the jaw. could the inflammation fron the ear affect the TMJ ? Regards

Nick

Hi Nick,

Moist (not dry) hot packs are therapeutic in reducing inflammation because the moist heat opens up the capillaries and encourages blood to flow in the (congested) inflamed area. Chronic inflammatory conditions often respond well to hot packs.

Cold packs do not encourage blood flow but can reduce acute inflammation caused by an injury or surgery.

With all that being said, each individual has their own preference to hot or cold applications. Personally, ice cold temps applied to my skin makes it hurt, even if the area is acutely inflamed. Whereas I find moist heat to be soothing.

Stress is a major trigger for tightening up our muscles, especially those muscles that are already messed up. Learned relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga or relaxation breathing exercises, bio feedback, other exercise, those sorts of things. We have to keep in mind that we train our bodies to respond, good.. bad and indifferent. So once the bad or indifferent has been established, we then have to re train our bodies to respond better. I'm sure you know all of this already... I'm just putting it out there :)

The ear micro suction that you had done... other than inflammation, what was the purpose of that? I have never heard anyone say it was painful. Do you mean the tightening of the jaw muscle hurt or the procedure hurt?

Yes, the ear and TMJ are intricately connected.... as well as the musculature system that we have spoke about.

Bryanna

The long an winding road
 

Hi Bryanna , I have had lots of Otis external in left ear all year, and microsuction was for wax but they found a lot of debris and severe inflammation underneath. Very painful when they did the procedure. I was in a right state and tmj also went into very bad spasm too. Ear been dodgy since with clicking and pressure changes. A twitching win massetter too. I think it's all on the same nerve.


Referring to what was talked of before the neck muscles bad today , but again a lot of stress from life's events that I need to reeducate myself how to deal with. I am retired and did so early as my emploer made working conditions impossible. I worked for the govt with people with disabilities , loved it but all my staff were taken off me and had to Do this myself. Too much and my health deteriorated indeed , my tmj. Since then my nervous system been intolerant of stress as I was burnt out. Regards nick

Hi Nick,

I can appreciate the aftermath of dealing with the stress from your previous employment. Been there and done that myself. I think it takes time to get ourselves into that physical and emotional state of tension, therefore, it then takes patience and perseverance to retrain our mind and body to live without it. Make sense?

The "stress intolerance" is a very real health problem that I think many people frown upon because it sounds.... ridiculous. However, it's far from it. Looking back on my own experiences and of those who have openly shared theirs with me, I would feel safe in saying that more people than not have or are experiencing stress intolerance and don't even realize it. Your thoughts?

If you can practice relaxation breathing and some gentle yoga/meditation on a daily basis, the benefits will be noticeable as your mind and body settles in to a more relaxed state. It certainly can't hurt to give it a try :)

Bryanna