TMJ II

Contributing Factors

I realize now that there were a multitude of factors that contributed to my TMJ. My body alignment problems were one, but there were also other factors. These were:

I had a hereditary connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. TMJ is common in people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome or other connective tissue disorders. Besides TMJ, other common features of connective tissue disorders are mitral valve prolapse, hypermobile joints (also called being double jointed), myopia (nearsightedness), irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, pectus excavatum (sunken chests), scoliosis, hearing problems, anxiety disorders, heart palpitations, poor wound healing and bleeding problems. Some people, especially women, with connective tissue disorders have what is called a Marfan habitus or mitral valve prolapse syndrome. They are tall and thin with long arms and legs, scoliosis and/or a chest deformity such as pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum. 

A study from Sweden found, "an association between joint hypermobility, abnormal skin connective tissue composition, mitral valve malfunction, and musculoskeletal disorders in young women with TMJ dysfunction, especially internal derangement." Basically, TMJ, hypermobility, defective connective tissue and MVP seems to occur together, either in people with defined connective tissue disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or people in the general population with mild connective tissue abnormalities. 

See my home page for more information on connective tissue disorders. I had most of the problems listed above and a lot more. I never knew they were all interrelated, or that there was a name for my health problems, until I was diagnosed by a rheumatologist with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. After my diagnosis, I started looking up things on the Internet and everything started to click. I put up this web site describing my health problems, what seemed to help me, and how I thought my symptoms were all logically interrelated and related to nutrition. Now I literally get hundreds of thousands of visitors a year from people with variations of many the same symptoms as I have had, including TMJ. 

I also suspect that I had a problem with defective hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is also called Hyaluronan, or HA. Hyaluronic acid is a component of connective tissue that functions to cushion and lubricate various body parts.  HA occurs throughout the body in abundant amounts in many of the places people with TMJ also have problems, such as other joints, eyes and heart valves. A study on PubMed showed that people with TMJ had abnormalities of hyaluronic acid compared to people without TMJ. Interestingly, one of the latest treatments for TMJ is injections of hyaluronic acid or oral supplements focused on improving hyaluronic acid. 

Overuse of my hand on the side where I had TMJ was another contributing factor. I had TMJ on my right side where I used a computer mouse for hours at a time. I think the tightness caused from gripping the mouse all day tightened my muscles on that entire side of my body and contributed to my TMJ pain and fibromyalgia. My TMJ pain also developed after I had kids and spent a lot of time pushing baby strollers, so I think that was another contributing factor. I have two sons close in age, so when they were little I had two babies to take care of at one time. I would push both of them around in a very heavy, double stroller. I think the gripping and pushing action from pushing the stroller around tightened my hand and shoulder muscles and also contributed to my TMJ. To make things even worse, I used to purpose push their stroller uphill for exercise. In hindsight this tightened the muscles too much in the front of my shoulder on my right side. I know now I should have embarked on a more balanced program of stretching and strengthening. 

I also suspect that I had a magnesium (Mg) deficiency. As you can see from the chart below, many of the conditions that are linked to TMJ such as mitral valve prolapse and fibromyalgia are also linked to low levels of magnesium. Mg deficiencies can cause both tight muscles and defective connective tissue. One of the things that helped my MVP, fibromyalgia and TMJ was adding more foods rich in this important mineral to my diet. 

Conditions Linked to TMJ	Conditions Linked to Magnesium Deficiency
migraines and other types of headaches	migraines and other types of headaches
mitral valve prolapse	mitral valve prolapse
fibromyalgia	fibromyalgia
hearing loss	hearing loss
tinnitus	tinnitis
menstruating women	menstruating women
vertigo	vertigo

According to the TMJ Association web site, "The majority, as high as 90 percent, of TMJ patients are women in their childbearing years." Interestingly, most of the people who get mitral valve prolapse and fibromyalgia are also women in their child bearing years. TMJ, fibromyalgia and mitral valve prolapse all commonly occur together, all occur primarily in women of child bearing age, and at least two of the three conditions (MVP and fibromyalgia) have been linked to magnesium deficiencies. Interestingly, excessive menstruation has been linked to magnesium deficiency, which may explain why women of childbearing age (menstruating women) then have more conditions linked to magnesium deficiency than the population in general. 

Interestingly, magnesium is needed to make hyaluronic acid, so it is not surprising that conditions linked to magnesium deficiencies and conditions linked to hyaluronic acid abnormalities tend to go hand in hand. Besides TMJ, conditions where magnesium deficiency may play a role include fibromyalgia, keratoconus, nystagmus, insomnia, asthma, allergies, attention deficit disorder and migraine headaches. Headaches and TMJ commonly occur together. Many people believe the TMJ causes headaches, which seems highly plausible. However, since headaches are linked to magnesium deficiency, another possibility to consider is that TMJ and headaches are both manifestations of a common root cause--a magnesium deficiency.

Diet Treatments That Helped My TMJ

There's a whole list of diet changes that I made to help my pain problems, including my TMJ, in my section on Fibromyalgia Diet. I've included a few of the diet changes here that I believe helped my TMJ the most below:

• Cutting back on salicylates. I believe this masy be at least in part because salycilates block vitamin K. (See my section on health conditions linked to vitamin K deficiencies for more on salicylates.)
• Cutting back on wheat and dairy, especially whole grains.
• Avoiding foods and supplements with a lot of vitamin C or iron. While
• Avoiding foods with sugar, yeast and preservatives.
• Eating more fat, especially moderate amounts of saturated fat.*
• Eating more red meat for zinc, iron and vitamin B12.
• Eating organ meat occassionaly for micronutrients.
• Eating vegetable soup with a lot of vegetables and beans for magnesium, meat and sometimes broth made from animal parts (bones, tendons, etc. for hyaluronic acid.)

Treatment Summary

 

The treatments that ended up helping my TMJ the most involved improving my overall posture and body alignment and loosening up my tight muscles. My TMJ pain came from tight muscles in my hands, shoulders and other parts of my body pulling on my jaw. I suspect that may be a cause of TMJ pain for other people, too.

TMJ impacts women of childbearing age more frequently than it effects other segments of the population. TMJ commonly occurs along with fibromyalgia, tinnitus, migraines, mitral valve prolapse and other conditions linked to magnesium deficiencies. A major factor in all of these associations may be that because magnesium gets depleted through the menstruation process, women of child bearing age are more likely to be at risk for conditions linked to a deficiency of this mineral.

Here's a recap of what helped me:

• Changing my diet, especially to get more magnesium.
• Improving my computer workstation set up and switching to an optical scanner mouse.
• Using a fanny pack instead of a purse.
• Using extra sharp knives in the kitchen.
• Seeing a physical therapist who specialized in ergonomics and posture.
• Doing yoga postures and ergonomic stretches every day.
• Using a styrofoam back roller.
• Using trigger point therapy and moist heat to relax my muscles.
• Reading and studying the books listed above on yoga, repetitive stress injuries and body alignment 

sumber:

• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/temporomandibular_joint_tmj_syndrome/article_em.htm#TMJ%20Overview
• http://daffodilmuslimah.multiply.com/journal/item/217/Gangguan_Sendi_Rahang_TMJ
• http://www.ctds.info/tmj.html