Is TMJ a Symptom Of Fibromyalgia?

TMJ disorder is the acronym for Temporo Mandibular Joint Disorder. This problem causes pain in jaws and it is common in individuals suffering from the problem of fibromyalgia instead of other individuals.

TMJ is responsible for connecting one’s jaws with the skull. These undergo stabilization with the help of ligaments and muscles opening and closing the mouth. Tenderness or pain sensation within or across the joints imply the problem of TMJ disorder.

Until now, doctors have unable to find out the exact cause of this problem. However, a large number of experts have agreed that TMJ disorder problem often takes place because of jaw trauma. In addition, there are other related conditions of the problem, which include rheumatoid arthritis, stress and anxiety feelings. Pain in this case may range from mild sensations to severe ones, while treatment depends primarily on the severity level.

TMJ disorder and fibromyalgia go together. Most of the patients remain unaware with the fact that TMJ and fibromyalgia go hand in hand with each other. Jaw of a person is a specific body part, about which a person does not think much until and unless it starts creating problems or fails to perform functions in a right way. This vulnerable body area allows you to perform a large number of daily activities, which individuals often consider as granted, such as drinking, talking, yawning and eating foods.

However, whenever people starts noticing symptoms related to tightness, pain and soreness or clicking in jaws, they have trouble in talking, chewing and finding a comfortable position to sleep or simply to relax. Even a few people may find them as involved more in grinding activities during the nighttime.

Symptoms of TMJ Due to Fibromyalgia

If you deal with the problem of Temporo Mandibular Joint Disorder, your jaw experience agonizing pain in combination with various other essential symptoms, which include-

Nausea
Headaches
Dizziness
Difficulty in chewing food items
Earaches
Difficulty in opening or closing your mouth.

Effects of TMJ Pain Among Fibromyalgia Patients

Pain caused because of TMJ disorder may extend to every possible area of your head, neck and face. Ligaments, muscles and nerves, which assure about chomping, may even remain responsible to function and cause sensation to each of the connected parts of the human body. Because of this, a large number of fibromyalgia patients often report the feelings of pain and tenderness in specific areas beyond their jaws.

Especially, sternocleidomastoid i.e. trigger point area is a particular area that remains present beneath the jaw i.e. within the area of front neck of a person. It correlates highly with the problem of fibromyalgia. Hence, your TMJ-based symptoms exacerbate various points in the surrounding areas, which result in radiation and feelings of jaw pain.

According to the medical and healthcare experts, approximately 90 percent of people leading their lives with the problem of fibromyalgia often experience facial or jaw pain. TMJ disorder and related jaw or facial pain may act as an extension of the fibromyalgia problem whenever its diagnosis takes place already.

Others will provide you a secondary level of diagnosis of the problem. Whether you undergo with both diagnose procedures or only one, combination of such conditions is usually debilitating. Whenever the pain caused by TMJ disorder prevents you to get a comfortable sleep, put limits on your head motion and affects the activity of your chewing food, it affects your life quality.

Remedies to TMJ Disorder Problem

Doctors recommend for a few common ways to relieve symptoms related to TMJ problem takes place because of fibromyalgia.

Gentle massage in case of facial and neck pain
Use of mouth guards
Perform jaw stretches and other similar exercises
Apply ice and heat therapy.

Also Read:

Is TMJ a Symptom Of Fibromyalgia?