Health and wellness is a necessity for efficiency and effectiveness in your daily life. Any kind of localized pain can make your entire body uncomfortable because your systems are connected and they react when something is wrong. Thankfully, you don’t need to tolerate debilitating chronic headaches anymore. They’re not something “you just have to live with.”

Headaches can originate from different sources such as stress, dehydration, changes in temperature and other less obvious causes. One of the often ignored causes of headaches is the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), the “hinge” that connects the jaw to the skull. Any disorders in this joint can cause very painful conditions, including headaches. The following post describes this in detail:

Tension Headaches? It May Be TMJ

One of the harder things to say as a doctor, and one of the most frustrating comments to receive as a patient is, “It is likely due to stress.” I have been on both sides of this conversation. I know when I suggest a physical ailment may be due to stress, my patient hears, “It is all in your head.” Medically I know this is not true… Still, even though I know better, when I was self-diagnosed tension related TMJ, I felt like I should be able to talk myself out of it.

I wish I could say I suffered in silence, but the truth is I think I complained a lot. I had constant jaw pain, ringing in my ears, neck pain, and could not chew anything hard. I had intermittent severe headaches and couldn’t sleep. Read more at Tips From Town…

If you have the symptoms highlighted in the above post and you have only been treating the headaches, then you need to dig deeper and address the root cause. The following post provides more common complaints associated with TMJ disorder (TMD).

Image Courtesy of Flickr

…TMD can be caused by an injury, grinding or clenching your jaw, and stress. Your temporomandibular joints (TMJ) allow for your mouth to open and close. When these joints do not move correctly or have added stress, they can cause headaches and other symptoms such as:

• Toothache
• Dizzines
• Ear pain
• Popping or clicking jaw
• Shoulder pain
• Ringing ears
• One-sided facial swelling
• Pain while speaking or chewing
• Difficulty opening or closing your jaw Read more at Dr Hefner…

In addition to your headaches, are you suffering from the symptoms listed in the post above? If so, you need to see a specially trained TruDenta dentist to verify that you are suffering from TMD and plan a course of treatment. This is the way to treat the condition permanently and relieve all your symptoms. (More on this in a moment.)

For quick, short-term relief — let’s say that annoying headache comes up when you’re about to step into an important meeting — the following post offers a trick that may help:

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

The Pencil Trick to Relieve Tension Headaches and Pain

Simple relaxation techniques such as massaging the jaw and forehead, gentle jaw stretching exercises or opting for softer foods can help relieve tension headaches and TMJ pain.

But apparently, so can pencils.

According to pain experts, holding a pencil between your teeth — but not biting it — can help relax your jaw muscle.

Holistic approaches, which are non-invasive, are recommended as an effective way to treat tension headaches and TMJ dysfunction. Addressing the underlying cause, for example stress and anxiety, is more effective than medication alone. Read more at Pasadena Pain Management…

The jaw exercises and the pencil exercise may provide a temporary solution, but correcting your TMJ issues is the only path to lasting relief. As we mentioned, the good news is that TMJ dysfunction is treatable with the right specialized therapy.

Fort Collins Headache Center uses a breakthrough, FDA approved treatment called TruDenta to correct problems with the TMJ and provide relief from chronic headaches and migraines. Book a consultation exam with Dr. Jared Ward today to see if you are a candidate for our cutting-edge therapy. If you are, we will create a treatment plan for you that will have you symptom free with just 12 or fewer weekly visits. Call Fort Collins Headache Center at 970-672-8517 or use the contact form on this page. We look forward to hearing from you.

Featured Image Courtesy of Pixabay