Do you suffer from any of the following?
- Tenderness of the jaw muscles, neck or upper back?
- Grinding your teeth, including in your sleep?
- Headaches, often when you wake up?
- Pain or difficulty in chewing, yawning or opening wide?
- Jaws that “get stuck” or “lock”?
- Popping or clicking of the jaw?
- Pain in or around your ear, without an ear infection?
- Dizziness or ringing in your ears?
If you do, you could be suffering from a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, grinding of the teeth and jaw clenching (called bruxism), or even whiplash, which can occur when a sudden distortion of the neck brings on headaches, neck pain and other related symptoms like the ones above.
If any of these symptoms are plaguing you, you’re not alone. It’s estimated that as many as 10 MILLION PEOPLE suffer from jaw-related disorders, and 80% of them are women!
Yet despite the staggering numbers, 40% of TMJ sufferers do nothing to treat their teeth grinding or TMJ. The remaining 60% who do use ineffective over-the-counter medications and mouth guards… that don’t solve the problem!
What’s more, according to Sandra Carter, medical researcher and author of TMJ No More, “The conventional TMJ treatment methods which are commonly used make TMJ WORSE in more than 92% of all sufferers.”
Why?
Because many medical professionals who treat TMJ:
- prescribe irreversible treatments and surgeries that don’t work
- only treat symptoms of TMJ, not the root cause
- don’t consider solutions outside their specific field of study
- use a piecemeal approach to treatment, instead of a complete program
Dr. Robert O. Uppgaard, an expert on TMJ pain, whiplash Fibromyalgia and Other Related Disorders, says, “TMJ disorder is a head-to-toe problem, not only physically, but also holistically involving the mind, body and spirit.”
Sandra carter, a top medical researcher of highly successful unconventional treatments, nutritionist and author of tmjnomore.com says:
“…In fact, only 5% of those using conventional TMJ treatments actually find relief – the other 95% continue to suffer with the same annoying and painful symptoms (or worse) again and again!”
Conventional doesn’t work in this field, and the sooner you get this the sooner you will solve your TMJ problems and other related symptoms.
That’s right, it’s a holistic problem. Therefore, the cure for TMJ disorders is a holistic SOLUTION, one that heals not just the jaw, but the entire body, using proven techniques to:
- Strengthen the Body
- Relax the Mind
- Fortify the Spirit
Not only is a holistic approach the ONLY one that WORKS, but it’s:
- NON-INVASIVE—no bite-changing mouth guards or oral surgery required!
- INEXPENSIVE—absolutely NO medications or therapy treatments! Zero cost to you!
- SIDE EFFECT FREE—forget the common side effects of surgery, dental work and medications!
- FAST—you’ll experience immediate relief to the face and head area, and within just a few months time, be free of TMJ disorder completely!
- EASY—say goodbye to difficult, painful medical treatments!
- SAFE—no drugs, no surgery, no gimmicks, just a healthy procedure that works!
- CURE FOCUSED—this isn’t a relief program, it’s a cure program because your TMJ, teeth grinding and other discomforting symptoms vanish…for GOOD!
And it’s a matter of…
Just – 3 – STEPS!
So ask yourself…are you ready to…
- Banish the tension, agitation, and exhaustion that often accompany TMJ and other related jaw disorders?
- Achieve permanent freedom from jaw, neck and facial pain; teeth clenching and grinding; headaches and other TMJ related symptoms?
- Feel happier, calmer and more energetic?
- Enjoy a better quality of life because your life won’t be centered around painful symptoms that are bogging you down?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, read on!
STEP 1: STRENGTHEN THE BODY
There is no medicine that can cure TMJ and its associated discomforts. None.
Prescription and over-the-counter medications can alleviate the pain, but they won’t rid you of the condition. So why take drugs that mask the pain when you can learn the techniques that will make it disappear forever?
There are two things you can do that will have an almost immediate effect on your jaw pain. And—because these things get your pain under control quickly—your quality of your sleep will improve… and THAT will increase your concentration and boost your energy levels in just a matter of days!
**Eat “Jaw-Friendly” Foods and Avoid Those That Aren’t
Adjustments in your diet are an ideal first step in curing your TMJ. Dr. Eddie Siman, TMJ specialist, says, “Perhaps the most difficult daily function to undertake when afflicted with TMJ disorder is eating.”
Since TMJ can be brought on by wear and tear of the jaw joints due to biting and chewing, it makes sense to focus on a diet of soft, healthy foods packed with nutrients that keep muscle joints lubricated and cramp-free. (And no, a soft food diet doesn’t mean you must avoid solid foods altogether and go on a baby food diet.)
Avoid foods that require excessive chewing, and foods that stimulate and make the body tense (which can lead to grinding and clenching!)
The Good Suff:
Water (6-8 glasses a day)
Dairy Products (for calcium)
Nutrition-packed soft foods like whole grain
rice and pastas, soft breads, mashed potatoes,
cereal, applesauce, steamed veggies and eggs
Non-chewy red meat (for zinc, iron, B12)
Beans (for magnesium)
Soup with meat and/or broth
made from animal bone (for hyaluronic acid)
Foods & Stimulants to Live Without:
Chewing gum, caramel, taffy, etc.
High sugar foods
Nuts
Hard rolls and bagels
Popcorn and other crunchy foods
Corn on the cob
Alcohol
Caffeine
Nicotine
(For more soft food ideas, see http://www.squidoo.com/SoftFood or go to Amazon.com for a host of soft food cookbooks.)
You may also want to consider supplements that promote joint health like a calcium/magnesium/zinc combination pill (taken with meals), Vitamin C (2000– 4000 mg) and Vitamin A (1000 IUs).
**Do Jaw Exercises that Stop Joint Pain and Muscle Spasms
Research has shown that jaw exercises eliminate pain and prevent TMJ symptoms from worsening. Simply resting the jaw can help ease tension! What is a rested jaw?
The jaw is relaxed or “rested” when your lips are together but your upper and lower teeth aren’t touching.
Here’s a simple exercise from TMJremedyadvice.com that will strengthen your jaw muscles and prevent your jaw from clicking:
1. Close your mouth on your back teeth and rest your tongue’s tip on the palate, behind your front teeth
2. Reach backwards with the tip of your tongue moving on the soft palate as far as you can reach, without moving the teeth
3. Now, holding your tongue backwards on the soft palate, open your mouth till you feel a slight pull on your tongue. Hold for a few seconds and then relax. Do not pull or exert pressure on your tongue.
4. Repeat the steps for 5 minutes.
Sandra Carter’s industry leading eBook exposes quite a few great methods to relax the jaw, you can visit Sandra Carter’s website tmjnomore.com.
STEP 2: RELAX THE MIND
Many experts agree that the main causes of TMJ are EMOTIONAL stress (tension, anger) and PHYSICAL stress (car accidents and other sudden injuries). It’s no surprise then that mind-body relaxation exercises—the body’s de-stress mechanisms—are key components to getting at the root cause of your TMJ!
What IS a surprise is that so few doctors recommend these techniques. Instead, they opt for mouth guards and medications that don’t get to the source of the problem!
**3 Key Whole-Body Relaxation Techniques:
- YOGA— According to Tias Little, licensed massage therapist and contributor for Yoga Journal, certain asanas (poses) such as Downward Facing Dog bring blood flow to the head, bathing the TMJ in blood. Practicing Upward Facing Dog into Downward Facing Dog flushes blood in and out of the jaw and face.
“The Shoulderstand and Legs-up-the-Wall pose will also send ample blood into this area, again bathing the joint in much-needed fluid,” says Little. “You may wish to avoid Headstand (pose) altogether, as it can tend to put even greater pressure on the TMJ.”
- MEDITATION—we all have the ability to bring our bodies and minds to a special state which lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and slows brain waves. This state, meditation, is actually able to counteract the harmful physical and emotional effects of stress.
Seated meditation releases the tension locked into your jaw. Start in a comfortable seated position, close your eyes and focus on relaxing your tongue, eyes, facial muscles and neck. Soften the muscles at the corners of your mouth. Observe that your lower and upper teeth move slightly away from each other.
Concentrate on breathing deeply and consistently, to stop “mental chatter.” Practice meditating daily.
- BREATH WORK—we take over 24,000 breaths a day! An important part of both yoga and meditation is breath work, but focused, controlled diaphragmatic breathing can in itself help calm the mind, and decrease heart rate, muscle tension, the perception of pain and much more.
Try this simple 3-part breath:
- Inhale slowly, expanding the belly, diaphragm and chest.
- Hold for a few moments before exhaling.
- Exhale slowly in reverse order.
- Hold for a few moments before inhaling again.
For more yoga, meditation and breathing techniques go to http://www.ehow.com/how_2068340_treat-tmj-yoga.html, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070 and other related sites.
STEP 3: FORTIFY THE SPIRIT
You may wonder what your spirit has to do with treating teeth grinding, TMJ, whiplash or other head and neck pains.
It all goes back to the holistic approach to healing. If the body is our physical form, the mind our thoughts and emotions, the spirit is who we are, our innermost “self.”
Does that sound too New Age-y?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the spirit, among other things, as “disposition of mind or outlook” of a person. OUTLOOK, research has shown, can have a huge impact on how we deal with stress, combat illness and manage our lives!
**Practice Living in the Present Moment
According to Dr. Lori A. Leyden-Rubenstein, author of the Stress Management Handbook, living in the present moment is the number one stress reducer!
“When we allow ourselves to put all our cognitive, emotional, physical and spiritual energy into being in the here and now,” says Leyten-Rubenstein, “it prevents us from feeling guilty about the past or worrying about the future.”
How, exactly, do you practice living in the moment?
- Be aware at all times what you’re thinking, feeling or doing NOW (breathe work and meditation can help!)
- Concentrate on one thing at a time
- Quiet the negative self-talk that leads to guilt, worry and stress
**Practice Self-Compassion and Self-Love
All too often we judge and boss ourselves into feeling unworthy, which can trigger stress and sabotage our health!
Simply put, self-compassion and self-love help us attain and maintain our spiritual connection with ourselves.
One of the best ways to have compassion and love for our “self” is to practice affirmations, such as:
- I love and respect all my natural abilities
- I deserve to be happy
- I’m willing to let go of judging myself and others
- I accept my faults and limitations
There are many other strategies for relieving stress and embracing the self but the principle is the same: taking care of the spirit is a vital component to maintaining and improving our health.
TMJ disorders, bruxism and other jaw-related conditions ARE curable. It’s just a matter of following the 3 steps that can lead to a more fulfilling life…pain free!
