What can I do for the Pain Possible TMJ?!
Question: I asked a question yesterday about the pain I was having and it might be TMJ. Had a traumatic injury to the mouth when I was hit with a 2x6 months ago when the clicking started, the pain on the left side of the jaw just started the other day.
Going to try to change my appointment that I have in 2 weeks to get in sooner at the dentist but can not find out till Monday.
What can I do to help relieve the pain in the meantime?
I am already on Ibuprofen for my ankle injury, but still have pain in both the ankle and jaw area.
Anything else I can do besides pain med?
Answers: I asked a question yesterday about the pain I was having and it might be TMJ. Had a traumatic injury to the mouth when I was hit with a 2x6 months ago when the clicking started, the pain on the left side of the jaw just started the other day.
Going to try to change my appointment that I have in 2 weeks to get in sooner at the dentist but can not find out till Monday.
What can I do to help relieve the pain in the meantime?
I am already on Ibuprofen for my ankle injury, but still have pain in both the ankle and jaw area.
Anything else I can do besides pain med?
Stay on soft foods!! Advil for inflamation. Alternate heat and ice. Soft foods is the number one thing to do. When your jaw is clicking it is because the jaw is slipping out of the joint. See an oral surgeon that specializes in TMJ. A general dentist will not do! They may be able to make a splint that you will wear to relieve the problem or it could be severe enough to need surgery.
Not an awful lot, if you've already got an appointment with your doctor. The highest self-prescribed pain medication you can do is:
2 paracetamol (2x500mg) up to four times daily
AND one of the following:
2 x ibuprofen up to four times daily OR 2 x aspirin four times daily.
Of course, this depends on whether you've had any medical advice to the contrary about taking aspirin or other NSAIDs.
Icing the joint for a maximum of 20 minutes using a bag of frozen peas or suchlike (wrapped up in a thin towel to avoid giving yourself an ice burn) should help ease the pain.
Tell your doctor you need a shot of cortisone. You could also have your doctor write a presciption to see a physical therapist. Make sure you go to a physical therapist that specializes in orthopedic problems.
The therapist could do a number of treatments, ultrasound(the kind that shoots a steriod into the muscle), electric-stimulation, massage, cross friction massage, exercise, ice. Also most chiropractors will do free evaluation and x rays, you may have knocked your alignment out of place and simply need to be realigned. My best guess is that you injured it, it became inflamed and you have just been dealing with the cycle of pain and inflammation. Hope this helps.