Chat Over Coffee: What is TMJ?

Hey guys, happy Monday morning!

I low-key am very beat from this weekend. I worked Sat. & Sun. at Papa's cupcakes and getting up early everyday has gotten to me - so I treated myself to a large HEATH iced coffee with extra ice from Dunkin' and I am def not regretting it. :)

So for the past week or so, I've been dealing with some jaw pain called Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ) from CHEWING GUM!

This is something I didn't even think existed - but basically my left jaw joint was inflamed/unaligned from excessive gum chewing and bad posture. Boy, did it hurt.

People can develop TMJ from Bruxism, when they grind or clench their teeth while sleeping at night. You can also develop it from chewing excessively combined with poor posture (which is my case!) Some people can simply develop it from chewing food wrong and their jaw becoming unaligned.

I've always had poor posture, constantly hunched over for school work, typing on computers, on my phone, etc. I've tried working on my posture before with my boyfriend, doing stretching exercises but I was never motivated enough to fix it for the long-term.

Unfortunately, it came to bite me in the butt.

I was having so much jaw pain when chewing, opening and closing my mouth. I was also having constant clicking and popping without pain when talking. I was getting so frustrated and anxious about not knowing why I was in pain and so suddenly too.

Thankfully, I posted a Facebook status asking if anyone knew of this pain/condition - shout out to Dawn, Alyssa, Britta, and Debbie for commenting to discuss the issue and recommending me to a chiropractor. I would've never thought about seeing a chiropractor!

I made an appointment with New Hanover Chiropractor and after two visits, my pain is almost non-existent. It's honestly crazy how much stretching and massaging my jaw has helped me.

To look back on the past two years, I've had crazy things happen:

- Esophagitis (burned hole in my esophagus from a acne medication)

- Acute Hyphema (micro-bleeding in the eye)

& now this, can I be done now?

This new issue has honestly taught me that posture is really important and is hard to reverse. Little steps can make a lasting impact.

Some tips I learned that I want to share with you guys:

- Prop your laptop/computer up so it is eye level

- If you have to look down to copy something when typing, lean the paper up to eye level

- Bring your phone up, don't look down!

- To help keep shoulders back, invest in a back brace (I am going to very soon!)

- Stretch your neck, chest, and shoulders to release tension every night

If I can help anyone along my journey, I want to! I also want to stay motivated to have a healthier lifestyle for my body and future self.

Missed my last post? Here it is: https://abigailcliff12.wixsite.com/website/post/my-outfit-summer-go-to-s

Until Wednesday,

Abigail