David Said:

Trouble with traveling. My head feels like it's going to explode!?

We Answered:

OK, firstly the doctor who told you to continue using Q-Tips is giving you really bad advice. The general advice for ears is "never put anything in them smaller than your elbow". I don't care if you're careful... you are at the least irritating your ear canal (maybe making your problem worse) and at most damaging your ear.

Ears are NOT designed for Q-Tips, something the company doesn't want to admit (but you'll note it's not one of the recommended uses on the box to insert one inside your ear... it's for cleaning of the OUTSIDE of the ear. There's a reason.)

And charge your dentist with assault... hell, what kinds of medics do you HAVE where you live? I don't care who you are, punching someone in the face is no treatment for lockjaw. He should manipulate the joint. It's like forcing anything - all he's gonna do is strain muscles and tendons and potentially damage the joint.

Sinuses are usually very good at equalising pressure and/or draining and if you are having issues then you may have a chronic infection or inflammation (sinusitis). If you find yourself retaining liquids to the point that you feel you need to use a Q-Tip, something's not right.

This is further proven if you don't depressurize correctly even if you approach something slowly (e.g. climbing a mountain). There is NO reason why you should be experiencing pain or pressure with something like that.

Do you find you can't breathe through your nose (i.e. can't breathe with your mouth shut)? Again, this would point to sinusitis.

One thing you can try to practise is the Valsalva manouver... actually two ways to do this. The first is to close your eyes, pinch your nose shut and blow - GENTLY. You should feel your ears pop. You can also do this by flexing your jaw muscles while opening your mouth. If you can't pop your ears doing this, then it just adds to the idea that you have something going on within your sinuses.

I advise you get referrals to REAL doctors (i.e. the ones who don't hit you or give you dangerous advice) and get an ear, nose and throat specialist check for causes of chronic sinusitis.

That said, all of us do occasionally suffer sinus pain from flying... it's just the way of the world and that dry, dry airplane air. It may feel bad but it's not physically harmful.

Deborah Said:

My doctor just diagnosed me with TMJ disorder and presrcibed physical therapy...?

We Answered:

Moist heat- get a moist heting pad. This increases blood flow to the tight muscles and helps them stretch and relax.

Here are some excercises that I found as well that may help.

Assisted Opening - Place two fingers on lower front teeth, slowly open as wide as is comfortable while pushing down with your fingers. Repeat ten times.

Resisted Opening - Cup palm under chin, open jaw slowly, and gently resist opening with hand under chin. Repeat ten times.

Midline Exercise - Look in mirror, bite teeth together, and look at position of two center teeth on lower jaw (central incisors). Open slowly while watching these two teeth and attempt to keep lower jaw "centered" as you open. Repeat ten times.

Simple Opening/Stretch - Open jaw slowly ten times as wide as is comfortable.

Lateral Movement Exercise - Open jaw about one inch from clenched bite. Move lower jaw as far to the right (straight to the right without opening more) as is comfortable. Repeat ten times and then do the same on the left side.

Neck Stretch - Attempt to touch ear to shoulder by bending neck and not raising shoulder. Repeat ten times and then do ten more on the other side.

Also I would second guess that whole PT seeing you for a month. Many states/insurance programs require a PT eval to be done with in 7-10 days from the doctor writing the script. You may want to check with your insurance and also looking into calling other PT's...it seems kinda odd that this PT can not be bothered with doing an eval (which generally will take about 30 minutes). You may have to drive a bit out of your way to find another PT, but it may be worth the drive.

Make sure you have a prescription from your doctor that says "PT eval" If you have the script then you should be able to go to any PT you want to. (With in your insurance plan)

PT's have to do evaluations first and then a treatment plan to start treatment.

Charlotte Said:

TMJ related?

We Answered:

TMJ is not something that is the same for every patient, so in all honesty, asking a balnket question about treatment is so sketchy at best, I wouldn't even recommend that you consider other people's comments. Your TMJ issue is your issue and must be treated specifically for you. TMJ diagnosis and treatment is very complicated. I would suggest you seek a second opinion if you are apprehensive about the treatment you are getting. Also, unfortunately, TMJ treatments may not solve the issue completely, but only treat the symptoms to make the patient more comfortable. I would be interested in what a dentist would have to say about this...Good luck.

Dolores Said:

tmj physical therapy?

We Answered:

Physical therapy is actually a common place for an oral surgeon to send a person with TMJD. Physical therapists specialize in evaluating and treating impairments of the joints of the body (including the TMJ). I would recommend that you look for a physical therapist in your area that has a CFC (craniofacial certification) from the University of St. Augustine (www.usa.edu). I am currently working toward that certification. I think you would be surprised to see how much physical therapy can actually help.
Also, It will not make the jaw worse and the exercises are mainly postural related (Posture plays a huge roll in the development and exacerbation of TMJD symptoms).

Wilma Said:

Is anyone out there on Methadone, Oxycodone, or Morphine maintenance for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia? What?

We Answered:

My friend had morphine for a while and it worked fairly well. But he did not want to continue to take morphine. He got a prescription for medical marijuana and that seemed to help him a great dea..

Cody Said:

what can ido to get tmj problems to go away without surgery. i tried physical therapy?

We Answered:

what causes most joint dysfunction and pain? weak muscles attaching at or around the affected joint. there are four pairs of muscles that open and close the jaw. (only one pair opens it-ha ha.) guess what holds bones in relative position to one another. right. muscles and ligaments. which are active? muscles. what controls the muscles? the brain through the nervous system. brain problem? highly unlikely. nerve interference problem? very likely. see an hio method chiropractor.