A little known but particularly painful and debilitating condition for the people who suffer from it is known as TMD for short.
Like many people who suffer from food allergies or intolerances this condition can be painful or disabling enough to keep sufferers off work for a day or two and be incredibly uncomfortable.
My own manager is a sufferer and is pondering if a form of surgery may even be necessary. When it happens her jaw starts clicking, then becomes ever more painful and then brings on violent headaches.
What the Temperomandibular Joints Are:
The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the 2 joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull. The joints that slide and rotate in front of each ear and consist of the mandible (the lower jaw) and the temporal bone (the side and base of the skull). The TMJs are among the most complex joints in the body.
These joints, along with several muscles, allow the mandible to move up and down, side to side, and forward and back. When the mandible and the joints are properly aligned, smooth muscle actions, such as chewing, talking, yawning, and swallowing, can take place. When these structures (muscles, ligaments, disk, jaw bone, temporal bone) are not aligned, nor synchronized in movement, several problems may occur.
Advice
The UK NHS website states that it is not usually serious and can get better on its own.
But to the sufferer that is not being very helpful. Like many allergy sufferers, it should be treated more sympathetically in their case.
The only real advice given is to:
eat soft food, like pasta, omelettes, and soup
take paracetamol or ibuprofen
hold ice packs or heat packs to the jaw, whichever feels better
massage the painful jaw muscles
try to find ways to relax
do not chew gum or pen tops
do not bite food with your front teeth
do not yawn too wide
do not bite your nails
do not clench your teeth – apart from when eating, your teeth should be apart
do not rest your chin on your hand
If a GP is recommended to be seen when the condition is exceedingly bad and all they can do is act on those above bullet points is it any wonder that people like my manager are driven to seek out other ways like surgery out of desperation.
We know that the medical community can’t get to the bottom of everything, especially as new conditions due to modern society living appear. My manager is in an air-conditioned office daily in one of New York’s high-rise blocks and often the temperature control of the office is beyond her control. She is constantly going outside that environment to a warmer restroom for pain relief.
In many cases, the actual cause of this disorder may not be clear. Sometimes the main cause is excessive strain on the jaw joints and the muscle group that controls chewing, swallowing, and speech.
This strain may be a result of bruxism. This is the habitual, involuntary clenching or grinding of the teeth. But trauma to the jaw, the head, or the neck may cause TMD. Arthritis and displacement of the jaw joint disks can also cause TMD pain.
Recent research has identified clinical, psychological, sensory, genetic, and nervous system factors that may put a person at higher risk of developing chronic TMD.
References used:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/temporomandibular-disorder-tmd/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/temporomandibular-disorder-tmd#:~:text=Temporomandibular%20disorders%20%28TMD%29%20are%20disorders%20of%20the%20jaw,together%20in%20harmony%20may%20result%20in%20temporomandibular%20disorder.
