Hi everyone. This is my first post. I've been high raw for about a year and a half. I recently started experiencing some serious jaw pain and stiffness. My dentist diagnosed me with TMJ, and I do appear to have many of the classic symptoms. I'm wondering if any of you have been through this and successfully alleviated or eliminated the symptoms with a 100% raw diet, yoga practice, etc. My dentist gave me a mouth piece to help me stop grinding my teeth while I sleep, but I'm feeling like there's more to the problem than that. I'm also waking up in the middle of the night and finding the mouth piece sitting on my night stand. It looks like I'm taking it out in my sleep. So much for that. My plan is to go 100% raw, do a lot more yoga, take long walks, sleep more, work on my posture, and do whatever I can outside of oral surgery to help this thing go away.

If any of you have experiences to share, I'd certainly appreciate it. Thanks.

hey derek... structural integration / rolfing is probably the best thing to explore for TMJ. or any bodyworker trained in myofascial release [en.wikipedia.org]

some chiropractors are, some cranial-sacral folks. but all rolfers are trained in it.

Dear Derek,

TMJ was one of my very first severe stress symptoms when I was a freshman in college, some....17 years ago. I had SO MANY unaddressed thought and reactive patterns - wow.

Tension in the face and jaw (just like shoulders) is a common stress reaction. Once I was able to learn to truly meditate and eliminate/transcend/transmute the reactive patterns that I was caught in, it was very quickly gone.

At that time, my brother recommended visualization and told me straight out that the TMJ was probably a symptom of some core stressors. Now, I am familiar with much more potent sources of spiritual wellness/fitness.

I will say that proper hydration helps a lot too. Even now, if I get really dehydrated, my jaw (and everything else) start to have more friction.

Eating raw can definitely help, but if you have powerful unresolved reactive patterns or past pain,....all the raw in the world can only help - you have to address them directly at some point.

I will offer my standard recommendation(s): Listen to "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and listen to "Help Along the Way" by me, the link is on my website below.

Good luck. My phone number is on the bottom of my website and I have unlimited Verizon minutes - feel free to call anytime to chat.

With Love,
Paul

[www.oneillpaul.com-a.googlepages.com]

Derek,

TMJ is a huge topic. I've had bruxism and clicking before... Here's my 2cents on Temporo-Mandibular Joint syndrome.

My only painful experience with TMJ came the morning after chewing a huge meal of raw carrot sticks etc and TIRESOME unsoaked nuts. I woke up with a sore jaw on one side and the inability to fully open my mouth (Trismus). After two days of rest and no improvement, I googled symptoms until becoming comfortable with the self diagnosis of TMJ, in my case the immediate problem being a slipped disk within the jaw joint. For nice animated diagrams of TMJ mechanics:

[ [smiles4everyone.com] ]

Further googling of treatment options left me with a sense of urgency because if left untreated the ligaments within the joint could become stretched etc. I was able to relax the jaw enough to allow the disk to spring back in place with the help of hot and cold packs, massage and manipulation. It was hard to figure out and do Would have been lost without websites like Walt Stoll, who has personal experience and an archive on TMJ:

[ [askwaltstollmd.com] ]

Small bites and soft foods were in order back then. Now I love my juicer

The comments of Maui Butterfly and EnlightenmentNow dovetail nicely with anything I've ever read on the subject.

Wow. Thank you very much for the help you folks have offered. Even through a distant conduit such as the internet, your compassion is palpable. Waking up and just reading these posts is so helpful for my attitude in dealing with this. I'll be sure to look into everything you've said. Have a wonderful day. Derek.