I have shoulder and neck pain. Do you have it on both sides
or just one side? Mine is on both sides.

I have neck and shoulder pain too. It's like the muscles start spasming and then it spreads from my head down into my neck and then shoulders/upper back. The only way I can describe it is I feel like i've been in a car wreck - my muscles are so tight and sore. Mine is on both sides as well.

Thanks for your replies!!! :)

i get it on both side, more prominently on my left side though, but it feels like a huge weight on my upper back, and my shoulder pain radiates down into my upper arms and it feels tight and inflammed. It is awful!! I can kind of feel it in my armpits too. I am going to see a tmj specialist next month thank goodness!! I just got refferred to one today. Do either of you get the pain in your upper arm/shoulder area into your armpits? Hard to explain I guess but thats the region I feel the most pain in, and my upper back.

Thanks again for the replies.

No, I don't get it down into my arms or armpits. You poor thing! That does not sound fun at all. I just get it in my upper back/shoulders. The thing that bothers me the most (besides severe daily headaches) is the neck pain. I feel like my head is too heavy for my body and my neck can barely hold it up. My poor husband's hand's get so sore from trying to rub my neck and put pressure in the right places. Good luck with the tmj specialist. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks!!! :) wow your neck pain sounds awful!!! I sure hope it gets better for you. I know exactly how you feel though about your head feeling too heavy for your body, sometimes it gets to the point where I feel like im floating, or like im outside of my body. Its so weird!!! My shoulder pain is very absurd as well. I get this tingling inflammed feeling, which gets worse when I type or move my neck a lot. I sure hope the tmj specialist can help me. I will definitely let you know how it goes. Hope you feel better soon!

You too! Tmj is so frustrating. I feel like I have tried everything - bite splint, physical therapy, acupuncture, surgeries (3), meds, etc. And nothing seems to help enough to give me real relief. They always attribute everything to it......Your headaches are probably from your tmj. Your muscle tightness is from tmj, etc. And there's nothing that can be done about it. I am finally resorting to a pain management clinic. My Dr. Is writing up the order and is going to send it over w/my chart notes and then they said the pain clinic will call me to set up an appt. I feel kind of weird because I think a lot of people with severe illnesses, etc. Go there but unless you've experienced tmj you have no idea how it is to live w/it. This forum has helped a lot just knowing others are going through the same thing. Thanks for your encouragement! :)

I feel so sorry for you!!!! I agree though, reading other people's experiences with tmj has made me feel much better about what I am going through. You are right, unless people have actually experienced tmj, they have no idea the pain we suffer each and everyday. It truly takes over your life!!! I can't even think of a day since after christmas when I have felt completely fine. I feel like crap everyday, literally. Some days I just dont even want to get out of bed. The tmj makes me feel sluggish, light headed and my whole body feels out of whack. Its horrible!!!! I just want to feel like my old self again. Its affecting my work, my relationship, everything!! I am sick of feeling sick everyday, I have no energy or enthusiasm for anything anymore and it is having a negative aspect on every area of my life. I just want to go back to the days when I wasnt a tmj sufferer. I hope I can find some relief soon!!!!! I hope you can too!!!

Hi crissya_13. We can definitely relate to each other. Let's keep each other posted. Your email made me think - I am tired all of the time for no reason. I never connected it to the tmj but that makes a lot of sense. I know exactly what you mean - I feel out of whack every day! Hopefully we'll both get some relief soon.

Yes we definitely can relate!!!! I will email you for sure, it is great to connect with someone going through something similar. We will keep in touch. Where are you from by the way?

I live in vancouver, washington. Where are you from?

Hi, i'm new to the forum, but am so happy to find out i'm not the only one experiencing this pain and aggravation! Not that I wish this on anyone. Apparently, this is quite common. I have severe upper back pain, neck, and tingling sensations on my shoulders 24/7. I have been to a physical therapist, numerous ent's, etc. I take advil for the pain. One doctor suggested surgery, so I opted for chiropractic instead. I have been going to a massage therapist now in conjunction with the chiropractor. She's saved my sanity (well, most of it) I still have pain, but use ice twice a day, and see her regularly. And pray alot. I have good days, and bad days with this. I started feeling like this in sept. Of 04. And then got really sick with a sinus infection, and when I went to the doctor, that's when I found out I had tmj. I have a dentist who fitted me with a mouthpiece, and I guess it's helping.

Hello everyone. This is my first post. I was recently diagnosed with tmj by an orthodontist in jacksonville, nc. Prior to that, I had been to the er and several doctors trying to figure out what was wrong with me. One day, I was drying the outside of my ear with a towel, and it hurt really bad right in front of my ear. At first, I thought that's what caused it. A few weeks later, I realized that a few days prior to my ear hurting, I had been opening my mouth really wide. This is going to sound silly, but I was stretching my mouth open as wide as it would go, rolling my neck etc. It got caught open (only for a millisecond); but, that is surely what aggravated my tmj. A few years prior to that, I was hit under the chin with a surfboard, and the physician's assistant said I would have tmj problems throughout my life. Well, he was right.

I was fitted with an acrylic mouthpiece, which goes on my top teeth. It has two points that come down in front of the bottom teeth. This keeps my jaw from moving from side to side at night when bruxing my teeth. The temple pain has gone away, but now I am experiencing neck and shoulder pain (only on my right side, which is the jaw I injured). I also am still experiencing a "sick feeling" from time to time. I notice this when my muscles seem very tense. I also get some minor muscle spasms in my right jaw and neck.

My orthodontist indicated that it takes a long time usually for your jaw to get that way in the first place, so it is going to take a long time to fix the problem. The tmj splint is actually repositioning my bite.

I read somewhere on the internet re a girl who got fitted with a splint and it took about three months for symptoms to completely go away.

I say this because I know many of you struggle with wanting immediate relief. I struggle with this everyday as well. My orthodontist indicated to me that the minimum amount of time for splint therapy is 6 months!

We have to realize that the tm joint's ligaments heal very slowly (as all ligaments do).

Let me know if anyone out there has experienced any relief from there symptoms. And, I won't leave you guys hanging as so many others do. Often, people get help and never come back to the site to post.

Good luck everyone.

Hi I have had TMJ for a number of years. Like you Crissya I get that strange armpit pain at the same time as pain in the jaw and upper back and tightness around the chest below the bust. Scares me a bit.I am in England and if you ring the NHS about that they just whip you off to the emergency room as they think its a heart attack and then, once they have established its not a heart attack and stuffed you full of painkillers they send you back home. Then its back to square one lol. I also have FMS ...Fibromyalgia Syndrome which TMJD is closely linked too. If you are tired all the time, feeling like you have beenrun over by a truck and have general achiness and pain then praps you need to get checked out for Fibromyalgia. My upper body is killing me at the moment as I also have Chostal Chonditis which is inflammation in your rib joints in the front of your chest.As you say no one understands the pain we get into with these problems and I was so pleased (sorry!!) to find someone else out there with armpit pain...thought praps I was finally going a bit daft but no we both have it and its definately a strange feeling... not a part of you that you expect to ache really. Relief wise I have an upper jaw splint and I have physio for upper back, shoulders and neck which helps. But relief only lasts a short while. The splint has been good but now I dare nOT wear....which wasn`t the point really . Also I tend to reach astage where I feel disapproved of by medics because I am not `recovering ` as I should so I tend not to go back to these medics after a while. Must be a perpetuating factor somewhere but I am darned if I know what it is. Will keep this site bookmarked as it is a relief not to be alone. Cheers all.

Hello,

I have read this thread beginning with crissya_13 (13 is my lucky #, is it yours also?). I hate seeing the pain all of you are in...

How can the TMJ joint cause shoulder pain?

Yesterday a middle aged female came in for a TMJ exam with a severe headache she believed came from an exagerated yawn she had 5 days ago. When I placed pressure on her shoulder muscle where the head joins the torso (trapezius muscle), she felt much pain on both right and left sides. After injecting those muscles, and other muscles, she felt 80% of her headache relieved.

Your TMJ allows your mouth to open and close. Opening and closing your mouth requires muscles to be used. Over 50 muscles can contract whenever your teeth touch together. Many TMJ symptoms come from overused and abused muscles. So how can you find relief? ...many different ways.

Try just one simple thing...

Keep your teeth apart. When your teeth are apart your muscles are not working. This will allow your muscles to relax--yes, even your shoulder muscles.

Try this faithfully for two weeks and post your results.


For your good health...

How can the TMJ joint cause shoulder pain?
By Referred pain apparently. According to the site leading dentists.com
" Having a ` bad bite` (malocclusion) causes an imbalance in the jaw-to-skull relationship, which in turn twists the jaw into a strained position that refers pain to the muscles of the neck. shoulders and back."

The splints we wear are designed to counteract this and also help to prevent clenching and grinding of teeth when we are asleep... as i am sure you all know.

As you say, much pain is from the muscles and as I have FMS , in my case it is the muscles that are too tight. Your suggestion is a good one, as keeping ones teeth together may well be a perpetuating factor...so will give your suggestion a go.

Thank you and good luck... Looking forward to hearing from you in 2 weeks.

Sometimes persons actually feel pain while keeping their teeth apart. Just continue at it for two weeks--the pain typically lessens.


Best wishes for your good health...