Be careful that the therapist is trained for TMJ. My physical therapist has taken a sledgehammer to my life. When I went to her I complained about ear pressure and and a tight neck. She worked on the front of my neck and had me do exercises to fix my horrible posture. Felt great. Sadly my body revolted and I had the worst muscles spasms ever. This is when I was just about out of the woods with my whiplash. The spasms in my face sprained my jaw bad and now my face is deformed. My TMJ joints make crunching sounds and I can't sleep. My eyes don't focus and I feel mentally confused. I had just started with a neuromuscular dentist who thought he could put a stop to the thing with a bite guard. Now I don't even know what is going to happen. I don' think I can do my job anymore but If I can't do my job than how will I pay the neuromuscular dentist I need? Now I am starting with a physical therapist trained in TMJ but I should have been more assertive from the start. She assured me that if she loosened my neck the ear pain would go away. Right now I am more scared than I have ever been in my life. I can only sleep for like an hour at a time and when I woke up my hands were cold. WHY WOULD GOD CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THIS! DOCTORS DON"T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT IF THEY DID IT WOULD BE ABLE TO BE PREVENTED ALMOST ALL THE TIME! I WISH YOU THE BEST.

My doc called all around the city to find me a place that specialized in TMJ. So I'm good there. It's like having a personal trainer, my arms are getting toned up, if nothing else! My TMJ is so bad I already have a lot of your problems. I gave up trying to work, but I am fortunate that my husband has good insurance. Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. Hang in there.
Actually loosening up my neck has stopped the progression of my symptoms. I don't get dizzy anymore, at least. Can you ask your doc for something to help you sleep? I take Lunesta, the pain is usually worse at night. I also take pain meds, I don't mind taking meds when I need them. They help A LOT.

Hey you guys, i had an awful experience with a pt trained in TMJ!!!!, just like the post above, he had my face spasming so bad, he was a tmj pt and he didnt know my jaw was dislocated..... he jumped with all his weight on my bottom jaw,and by the time i got to a chiropracter, my face and jaw was hanging off the hinge for two years. The chiro popped it back in.... and it took a few years to train the jaw. Now it is in and my bite is back to normal. the post above me sounds creepy familiar to me. BE careful. also if you have a whiplash type of a neck and or a reverse curve..... that goes hand in hand with tmj. be CAREFUL with ALL TMJ EXPERTS!!!! of any profession. they are not the experts they think they are. some make matters alot worse.!!!! good luck metalcrystal!!! and be careful... everyone!!! love cindy

Actually today I noticed that the pain in my neck is seriously better. My issues aren't from an accident , they are all bite and muscular. So I think it is helping me. I am pretty aggressive with the therapists about what I will and will not let them do, tho. Mostly they do ultrasound on my jaw area, and TONS of exercises to correct my posture and build up my muscles.

hey? are you doing any neck exercises? reason i ask is a bunch of chiro's wanted me to do strength ones. they called them neck isometrics, and i was doing them, they werent hurting anything, but you know how it is... i cheat!!! dont do them!!!! yea dont let a pt jump on your jaw. when i think back on that? how ridiculous that was? i was pretty stupid in the begining!!!

Don't feel bad Cindy, I didn't even know what was wrong with me for years. My doc just thought I had headaches. Yeah I have sooo many exercises to do. When I go in they make me work out like crazy! The MT did find a trigger point that she thought was causing a lot of neck pain, and now it does feel better. I told them we should do massage the whole time, LOL. We really have to do the exercises, don't we, or they don't work. I hate exercising!

Hi all,
I've been to physical therapy about 3 or 4 times during all this TMJ madness. The first lady broke up the constant headaches with heat wrap, ultrasound, massage and exercises. That is usually what is done. When the first PT couldn't continue seeing me after several weeks (PT usually like to fix you and close the case), I found my first massage therapist (there were many useless ones I tried). Over the years I've gone back and forth between PT and MT, and, depending on how good the therapist is, it makes all the difference. I highly recommend either or both. I think it works best to have a massage at least once a month even after the "crisis" is over.

God bless...
Carol

Hey you guys... My chiro says my neck is so blankedy blankedy bad that a Pt wouldnt help much...so i kind of believe this guy, he is a licensed physiotherapist plus more, and i have been going to him 5 years and he hasnt lied yet. He'd rather me NOT waste my money..... know what i mean.Plus the pts we have in my rural state are like housewives that took a course for a couple of years.... But with all that being said. I have talked to a few other chiropracters... theres a bunch on line that are very smart...and nice. So they said it wouldnt hurt to do some exercises to build neck muscles up.Because it is all so interconnected. so i have pretty much picked out pt exercises and are doing them on my own.... it isnt hurting or helping. But like Dyan told me it might take a while... like give it a year maybe? so thats my latest experiment on my self. I fixed my ear symptoms with a gadget i invented. Thats great. i have cut my prongs off a partial denture that i have to wear to replace one front tooth. and pretty much am doing pretty good? WORKING ON MYSELF.LOL I figure if I cant get enough results with professionals, i'll do it myself!!AHHHHHHHHH

yeah it may take awhile--at least a couple months befor you notice a difference that is lasting. it takes a while to rebuild good muscle.