Tmj Help Program eBook

- 2 - Copyright www.TMJ-Help.org - Katherine Page

INDEX

TMJ Symptoms__________________________________________________ 5 Mouth, Face, Cheek, Jaw, Tongue and Chin Problems________________________5 Eye Pain and Eye Problems ____________________________________________5 Head Pain, Headache Problems, Facial Pain _______________________________5 Teeth and Gum Problems ______________________________________________6 Ear Pain, Ear Problems ________________________________________________6 Throat Problems______________________________________________________6 Neck and Shoulder Problems ___________________________________________6

TMJ Causes ____________________________________________________ 7

Trauma_____________________________________________________________7 Bruxism ____________________________________________________________7 Malocclusion ________________________________________________________8 Stress______________________________________________________________8 Osteoarthritis ________________________________________________________8 Rheumatoid Arthritis___________________________________________________8

Shocking Discoveries About Traditional TMJ Treatments_______________ 9 You're Being Ripped Off________________________________________________9 Are You Curing Your TMJ or Making It Worse?______________________________9 Long Term Use of Drugs May Lead To Dangerous Complications _______________9 What Doctors Don't Tell You ___________________________________________10 TMJ Surgery Can Make Things Worse ___________________________________10

Western Medicine Vs Alternative Medicine __________________________ 12

How The TMJ Help Program Works ________________________________ 13 We Will Work On Your Bad Diet ________________________________________13 We Will Work On The Bad Position Of Your Body___________________________13 We Will Work On Your Stress And Negativity ______________________________13

TMJ Diet ______________________________________________________ 14 A Powerful Natural Item For Immediate Relief______________________________14


About Magnesium ___________________________________________________14 Increasing Magnesium Levels The Easy Way ______________________________15 Magnesium-Rich Foods Or Magnesium Supplements?_______________________16 Stay Away From These Foods__________________________________________16 Different Ways To Take Magnesium _____________________________________16 Food You Should Eat As Often As You Can _______________________________18 Food You Should Avoid Like The Devil ___________________________________20 A Few Meals Ideas___________________________________________________21

TMJ Exercises _________________________________________________ 22

Breathing Exercises_____________________________________________ 23 What does your breathing trigger?_______________________________________23 Exercise 1: Belly Breathing ____________________________________________24 Exercise 2: Alternating Nostril Breathing __________________________________25

Body Exercises_________________________________________________ 28 Exercise 3: Toes and Feet _____________________________________________29 Exercise 4: Calves ___________________________________________________30 Exercise 5: Hip Opener #1 _____________________________________________32 Exercise 6: Hip Opener #2 _____________________________________________35 Exercise 7: Spine Twist _______________________________________________38 Exercise 8: Shoulders ________________________________________________40

Neck Exercises _________________________________________________ 41 Exercise 9: Lengthening The Neck ______________________________________41 Exercise 10: Neck Stretching #1 ________________________________________42 Exercise 11: Neck Stretching #2 ________________________________________43 Exercise 12: Neck Stretching #3 ________________________________________46 Exercise 13: Neck Stretching #4 ________________________________________47

Mouth, Tongue & Throat Exercises ________________________________ 48 Exercise 14: Expand The Muscles Of Your Mouth #1 ________________________48 Exercise 15: Expand The Muscles Of Your Mouth #2 ________________________50 Exercise 16: Strengthen The Muscles Of Your Mouth ________________________52 Exercise 17: Strengthen Your Throat_____________________________________53


Exercise 18: Strengthen Your Tongue #1 _________________________________54 Exercise 19: Strengthen Your Tongue #2 _________________________________55 Exercise 20: Strengthen Your Tongue #3 _________________________________56 Exercise 21: Strengthen Your Tongue #4 _________________________________57

Jaw Exercises__________________________________________________ 59 Exercise 22: Jaw Massage #1 __________________________________________59 Exercise 23: Jaw Massage #2 __________________________________________60 Exercise 24: Jaw Stretching #1 _________________________________________62 Exercise 25: Jaw Stretching #2 _________________________________________63 Exercise 26: Strengthen Your Jaw #1 ____________________________________64 Exercise 27: Strengthen Your Jaw #2 ____________________________________65

Relaxation Exercises ____________________________________________ 66 Exercise 28: Relaxation #1 - Car ride relaxation ____________________________66 Exercise 29: Relaxation #2 - Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Routine __________67 Exercise 30: Relaxation #3 - Rag doll ____________________________________68 Exercise 31: Relaxation #4 - Bed Time Relaxation __________________________69 Exercise 32: Relaxation #5 - Morning Routine______________________________70

Conclusion ____________________________________________________ 71


TMJ Symptoms As a TMJ sufferer, you probably have done a lot of research on the topic and you know that suffering from TMJ doesn't only mean having strong pain in the jaw. Unfortunately, there are many more symptoms associated with TMJ and I'd like to highlight some of them here.

Mouth, Face, Cheek, Jaw, Tongue and Chin Problems • Discomfort or pain to any of these areas • Pain in cheek muscles • Uncontrollable tongue movements • Jaw and Jaw Joint Problems • Limited opening • Inability to open the jaw smoothly or evenly • Jaw deviates to one side when opening • Inability to find the correct bite with teeth • Clicking or popping jaw joints • Uncontrollable jaw movements

Eye Pain and Eye Problems • Bloodshot eyes • Blurring of vision • Eye pain above, below and behind eye • Pressure behind eyes • Light sensitivity • Watering of the eyes

Head Pain, Headache Problems, Facial Pain • Migraines • Forehead pain • Cluster headaches • "Sinus Type" headache • Hair and/or scalp painful or sensitive to touch • Headaches at the back of the head, with or without shooting pain


Teeth and Gum Problems • Clenching during the day or at night • Grinding teeth at night (also called bruxism) • Tooth pain • Sensitive teeth

Ear Pain, Ear Problems • Hissing, buzzing, ringing, or roaring sounds • Diminished hearing • Clogged, "stuffy", itchy ears • Feeling of fullness • Ear pain without infection • Balance problems, vertigo, dizziness

Throat Problems • Swallowing difficulties • Tightness of throat • Sore throat with no infection • Voice fluctuations • Laryngitis • Tongue Pain

Neck and Shoulder Problems • Neck pain • Tired, sore neck problems • Shoulder aches • Back pain (upper and lower) • Arm and finger tingling, numbness, and/or pain • Stiffness

Do any of these sound familiar? If you have symptoms that are not listed here, please email me at [email protected] and I will add them to the list.


TMJ Causes The temporomandibular joint is one of the most complex joint in our body. The joint combines a hinge action with sliding motions as well as having bones that have rounded ends so that they glide in and out of the socket. This makes chewing, yawning, and talking possible. Cartilage and a small shock-absorbing disk cover the bones that interact inside the joint, which keeps the movement smooth. It is still unclear what causes TMJ disorder. However, there are common themes in the people who have TMJ disorder. These include the following conditions or behaviors that appear to influence TMJ disorder.

Trauma Trauma appears to have the strongest association to TMJ disorder. According to the Journal of American Dental Association in 1990, 40% to 99% of all TMJ cases were results of trauma. This study defined trauma as a physical influence to the body that is abnormal. Examples include a blow to the jaw, whiplash due to a car accident, and/or surgery involving the mouth of jaw. Studies also found a correlation between TMJ disorder and people having experienced a car accident where the airbags had deployed. Trauma may also include an event which shocks the body. This can include a physical and/or mental experience which has lasting effects to the organism as a whole.

Bruxism Bruxism is constant teeth clenching and/or grinding. Bruxism causes abnormal pressure on the TMJ area and may lead to ligament damage and wear on the cartilage lining within the joint, which may lead to the dislocation of the joint’s disk which can create the jaw to lock or pop. Bruxism usually occurs during sleep and often the sufferer does not realize that it is happening. Suffers may wake up without realizing they were grinding or clenching their teeth but may have sore muscles in the morning. Along with sore muscles they may also experience sensitivity and worn teeth.


Malocclusion Malocclusion is a dental term describing when teeth do not make contact in the normal way. This may be due to poor fitting dentures, removal of teeth, advent of pre-molars, lack of posterior prop, wisdom teeth, chewing on only one side of the jaw, fingernail biting, and/or habitual gum chewing. People who have TMJ disorder may feel that their teeth do not fit together like they use to or that it is difficult for them to find a comfortable way to close their teeth or bite down.

Stress Stress for many reason, can cause and/or exacerbate the tightening of muscles, particularly about the shoulder, neck and especially the temporomandibular joint. Our bodies have a natural way of breaking down the endorphins that are produced by stress but when the stress is constant or abnormal it can tighten the muscles so much that it shortens decreases their flexibility and can lead to misalignment throughout the area. This puts abnormal pressure on the temporomandibular joint and can lead to TMJ disorder.

Osteoarthritis Degenerative joint disease is the deterioration of cartilage and loss of new bone formation at the surface of the joint. Since TMJ is a joint, it is prone to arthritic changes like the other joints in our body. Cartilage deterioration is a result of several biological and mechanical factors rather than a single entity. The most common cause of joint disease is normal aging.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis is another degenerative joint disease and causes inflammation in joints. Children who have rheumatoid arthritis can also develop TMJ disorder. Like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis can cause a breakdown of cartilage and effect bones, deforming joints. Inflammation in the joints can cause painful sensations throughout the jaw area.


Shocking Discoveries About Traditional TMJ Treatments

You're Being Ripped Off The first thing I discovered while doing my research was that almost everyone is getting ripped off by the drug and pharmaceutical companies. The drug industries are filled with snake oil marketing vampires that are getting rich by preying on your pain and desperation. The second thing I discovered is that almost everyone is dead wrong in the way they try to control and treat their TMJ. It's a fact; the methods you're probably using right now to treat your TMJ might be severely damaging your internal system and your health.

Are You Curing Your TMJ or Making It Worse? If you're making the same deadly mistakes as most other TMJ sufferers, you might control and get rid of your TMJ pain temporarily, but eventually your TMJ and your health will get worse in the long run. Your TMJ condition is just way too complex for these "ordinary" pills and over the counters to ever work. You can't overcome such a profound internal problem using drugs. You can't fool your body - you have to work with your internal system, not against it, by fixing the root cause!

Long Term Use of Drugs May Lead To Dangerous Complications The vast majority of prescription drugs (not just those aimed at treating TMJ) can severely damage your delicate natural internal balance, interfere with liver function, build up toxins in your body, slow down your metabolism and lead to serious side effects. British medical scientists have recently linked PPI drugs to Osteoporosis (bone loss). Additionally, taking more than one medication in many cases results in serious reactions between the different drugs as one drug can change or even worse, enhance the effect of the other drug. This can lead to harmful consequences.


What Doctors Don't Tell You We have become so accustomed to following doctors' orders that many prescriptions, medical tests, and surgical procedures are accepted without question. This blind faith can be dangerous! Modern medicine offers us a wide range of powerful treatments for ailments large and small. But did you know that some common "cures" come with serious, life-threatening risks, or may do nothing at all? Doctors don't know as much as you think they do. For example, they don't know for sure what causes most cases of TMJ pain or what makes it better. Doctors do know that many of the tests, drugs and procedures they order and prescribe either do not work or have not been proved to work. Case in point: they keep prescribing antibiotics for colds and bronchitis. Doctors like ordering tests and prescribing drugs better than they like listening to you. There are “all natural” solutions to nearly every medical condition that are safer alternatives, actually improve your health, and are void of ALL of the side effects of traditional medication. Natural cures and gentle medicines are available everywhere, if you know where to look! But don't expect your doctor to tell you about these secrets. If they did, pharmaceutical companies would lose billions of dollars annually. The medical community (hospitals and pharmacies) would never allow this to happen!

TMJ Surgery Can Make Things Worse These paragraphs were taken from the TMJ Association's website (www.TMJ.org) and tell a lot about TMJ surgery… "Research has also shown that repositioning splints and disc repositioning surgeries in many cases actually caused the disc to further be displaced, even in patients who had been considered cured."


"Anyone undergoing surgical procedures is at risk for complications of surgery. Any surgical procedure poses a risk of infection and other complications, including reactions to anesthesia." "Pain alone is not a reason to undergo a TMJ replacement procedure; often, after surgery, the pain level stays the same or even increases. TMJ implants may also cause permanent damage. Some of these devices may fail to function properly or may break." "A review of the literature, however, indicates that surgery of the temporomandibular joint for the management of conditions causing chronic pain has a history of varied and unpredictable results." "The most common reason for unsuccessful TMJ surgery is a failure to eliminate the underlying cause of the problem in addition to the obvious pathology. Too often, the surgeon deals only with the immediate situation and fails to consider what initially led to its development. Unless the latter is done, there is a great risk of the same factors leading to a recurrence of the condition."


Western Medicine Vs Alternative Medicine To most people, western medicine is scientific, more widely accepted and belongs to the main stream tools toward health and wellness. Hence, it is the defacto choice for them. While I have utmost respect for the advancement western medicine have made until today, I have come across enough cases that makes me convinced that natural medicine is the superior choice to western medicine when it comes to achieving good health. What is my basis for concluding so? Western medicine treats symptoms but does not get to the root of the problem. For someone suffering from headache they usually prescribe pain killers but falls short of addressing the real cause of the headaches. When a patient has fever, sometimes they ask the patient to dip in cold water or stay in cold air-conditioned rooms to combat the rising temperature. Proponent of western medicine may challenge me to say why make a fuss when the illness is "cured". I will say the symptoms may be cured but the root cause of the illness is merely subdued. The result of which is a weaker health constitution in the long term. Alternative treatments are very different as they seek to identify the underlying health deficiencies. Natural medicine acknowledges that the body consists of organs that are all interlinked and their yin & yang composition determines how the energy flows within the organs of the body. Natural medicine thus goes right to the root of the health problem instead of just treating the symptoms. Going right to the root of the problem is exactly what we're going to do.


How The TMJ Help Program Works As we were able to verify, traditional treatments have not been able to cure your TMJ. Even the TMJ Association, the most respected organization on the TMJ matter, doesn't know of any permanent cure to TMJ. Prescribed drugs don't go to the roots of the problem; they just merely hide them for a period of time, at least until the effects of the drugs wear off… The TMJ Help program is the only proven method that focuses on the three main underlying causes of your TMJ condition.

We Will Work On Your Bad Diet Have you ever heard the proverb "you are what you eat"? This is a very true proverb and we'll go over a simple diet that can help your TMJ problems.

We Will Work On The Bad Position Of Your Body We will work on the muscles around your neck, your jaw, and your mouth but we will also work on your body posture. Because the problem doesn't always come from where it hurts, working on your full body posture will help naturally relocate your joints to the right position.

We Will Work On Your Stress And Negativity Stress in one of the main causes of TMJ and even if you don't feel stressed or tensed, you body may prove you wrong and put unnecessary stress on muscles around your neck. We will work on relaxation and breathing methods that will help you relieve your emotional stress.


TMJ Diet

A Powerful Natural Item For Immediate Relief A few years ago, I went to the health food store and decided to try two natural remedies for TMJ that I had learned about on the web: kava kava (for muscle relation) and magnesium. First I tried the kava kava. It did relax my muscles and my TMJ loosened and felt great but it wore off after 3-4 hours and it is too toxic to the liver to take more than once or twice a day anyways. Slowly the spastic muscle pain was getting worse and I figured I'd have to resort to Advil (again!) after I ate something. At dinner I took my usual vitamins including calcium, vitamin E, vitamin C, etc... The only difference was that I added 300mg of magnesium. I got busy with something on the computer so I didn't take the Advil right after dinner. As I sat there at the computer (something that usually worsened my TMJ pain), I felt my jaw muscles relaxing. The pain was literally melting away! I thought to myself, "did I take the Advil?" I couldn't believe it but the magnesium worked that fast! I keep saying to my husband, "it feels so good to not have pain!" the pain is not just dulled, it's gone! I am just so shocked that something so simple has helped me so much. It's wonderful to know that this is something that will not hurt my body, rather something that is actually beneficial to my body.

About Magnesium Magnesium, abbreviated Mg on vitamin bottles, is one of the minerals that are too often overlooked by those seeking to improve their health. A deficiency in magnesium levels is suspected to be one of the causes of many health problems, including TMJ, migraines, headaches, and diabetes. Today’s poor dietary habits very frequently leave many people without the USDA recommended daily allowance of magnesium. Those who subscribe to the idea that magnesium deficiencies are behind many common health problems feel that increasing a person’s daily magnesium intake would lead to their overall improved health.


TMJ is one medical condition that is associated with vitamin deficiencies, in particular, calcium and magnesium. The two vitamins are related in this instance because a person who is deficient in their magnesium level will find that their bodies regulate and metabolize calcium in a much less beneficial way, leading to a lower level of bone density. Maintaining bone health, and bone density, is especially important in older adults. Supplementing their diet to ensure that they are getting the recommended daily allowance of magnesium is a good way to do that.

Increasing Magnesium Levels The Easy Way First, and foremost, go back to the basics. Some of the most magnesium rich foods are vegetables and legumes, or beans. If you are trying to diet or maintain your weight, one of the easiest minerals to take in is magnesium because it is very easy to ingest a large amount of it in a small amount of food. Soup is a wonderful way to get magnesium because it is very easy to pack it full of beans and vegetables. Fat, sometimes gets a very bad reputation. Many people do not realize or understand that fat is not always bad. In fact, some fats are very effective at helping you to absorb the vitamins and minerals in the food you eat. There was a study done by researchers regarding nutrition and vitamin deficiencies. The results of this study were reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this report, researches stated that, “Essentially no absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads with fat-free salad dressing were consumed. A substantially greater absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads were consumed with full-fat than with reduced-fat salad dressing.” Unfortunately, as an extension of this, people who are attempting to lose weight and go on very low-fat diets, often become vitamin and mineral deficient, including Magnesium, suffering from side effects such as headaches and TMJ. One good thing to remember is that foods that have “empty calories” are also normally very low on calories. Making the right food choices is really common sense. Choosing between a bowl of vegetable beef soup and several slices of white bread should be a no-brainer. While both foods have the same number of calories, the vegetable beef soup will obviously hold more magnesium, along with other vitamins and minerals, than the white bread.


Magnesium-Rich Foods Or Magnesium Supplements? Physicians will frequently recommend a dietary change to increase magnesium intake over dietary supplements. One reason for this is that magnesium is commonly found on the ingredient list of antacids and ingesting them as a dietary supplement can produce the same result as taking too many antacids. It will reduce the amount of stomach acids and prevent you from properly absorbing the proper amount of vitamins and minerals from the foods that you eat. Another reason is that for magnesium to be properly utilized, there are other vitamins and minerals that must be present. A magnesium supplement may not be sufficient if there are also other deficiencies.

Stay Away From These Foods An important factor in magnesium deficiencies is alcohol intake. Unfortunately, the differences between a hangover and a magnesium deficiency can be hard to distinguish. The sensitivity to light and noise, and headache, are characteristic of both. Some prescription drugs, especially prescription antibiotics, have been known to create a deficiency in magnesium. If you are on antibiotics for any reason and find that you are developing some of the acute symptoms of magnesium deficiency, you might try eating a meal that is high in bean or vegetable content and see if you don’t find some relief from your immediate symptoms. Soda, coffee, tea, energy bars, and energy drinks are all high in caffeine, which can inhibit the body's ability to absorb magnesium properly.

Different Ways To Take Magnesium As previously mentioned, doctors often recommend that patients increase their magnesium intake through dietary changes and not through supplements. Multi-vitamin type supplements do not often contain effective levels of magnesium. They may contain antagonists for the magnesium, but not the magnesium itself. If you are insistent on looking for a supplement, you may have better luck with some sort of powdered supplement or nutrition bar – just be sure to read the label and make sure that the product you choose has the ingredients that you seek.


Along the same lines, fortified foods are often advertised as being high in vitamins and minerals, but do not contain the proper recommended levels of magnesium. If you are deficient in magnesium, your doctor may recommend that you drink some soy milk. There are two reasons for this. Soy milk has a high concentration of magnesium, as well as phytoestrogens. The phytoestrogens are important because estrogen has been found to aid the body in properly absorbing magnesium, along with using it once it has been taken in. There is some caution to be taken here though. Soy milk should not be drunk in excess as you do not want to raise the body's estrogen levels too high. Doing so may create problems with the thyroid. If you find that you are deficient in your vitamins and minerals, but do not have time to cook healthy foods at home all of the time, there is something you can do to correct the problem. Seek out fast food restaurants that serve Mexican foods, which most likely contain beans that have been cooked and are digested easily. You might also order a baked potato; these can be found on the menu of many fast food restaurants. Many households have trouble with magnesium intake because the family members do not enjoy eating vegetables and other magnesium rich foods. A good way to combat this is to modify the foods to make them more appealing and more easily digested. Serving mashed potatoes versus boiled potatoes, smoothies instead of raw bananas, and soy milk instead of cow milk are all good ideas. Vegetable soups and broths, as stated earlier, are a wonderful source of magnesium and can be enjoyed by almost anyone.


Food You Should Eat As Often As You Can

50 Magnesium-Rich Items You Should Eat Serving Mg Content

Artichoke, cooked 1 medium 47

Baking chocolate, unsweetened 1 square 93

Barley, pearled, raw 1 cup 158

Beans, baked, canned, with pork and sweet sauce 1 cup 83

Beans, baked, canned, with pork and tomato sauce 1 cup 86

Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 120

Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 80

Beans, navy, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 96

Beans, white, mature seeds, canned 1 cup 134

Beet greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 98

Broadbeans, cooked 1/2 cup 36

Buckwheat flour 1 cup 301

Bulgur, dry 1 cup 230

Candies, semisweet chocolate 1 cup 193

Cereals ready-to-eat, Kellogg, Kellogg's All-Bran Original 1/2 cup 109

Cereals, Kellogg, Kellogg's Frosted Miniwheats, bite size 1 cup 65

Cereals ready-to-eat, Kellogg, Kellogg's Raisin Bran 1 cup 77

Cereals ready-to-eat, Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats, original 1 cup 60

Chard, Swiss, cooked 1/2 cup 76

Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow 1 cup 155

Cowpeas (blackeyes, crowder, etc..), cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 91

Dock (sorrel), cooked 1/2 cup 60

Fast foods, submarine sandwich, with tuna salad, 6" roll 1 sandwich 79

Fast foods, taco 1 large 108

Fish, flatfish (flounder and sole species), cooked, dry heat 1 fillet 74


Fish, halibut, Atlantic and Pacific, cooked, dry heat 1/2 fillet 170

Lima beans, immature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 101

Lima beans, large, mature seeds, canned 1 cup 94

Lima beans, large, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 81

Milk, canned, condensed, sweetened 1 cup 80

Muffins, oat bran 1 muffin 89

Oat bran, raw 1 cup 221

Okra, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 94

Peanuts, all types, dry-roasted, with salt 1 oz 50

Pumpkin seeds 1 ounce 152

Refried beans, canned 1 cup 83

Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked 1 cup 84

Snacks, trail mix, regular, with chocolate chips, and seeds 1 cup 235

Snacks, trail mix, tropical 1 cup 134

Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 148

Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 148

Soymilk, original and vanilla, unfortified 1 cup 61

Spinach, canned, drained 1 cup 163

Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 157

Spinach, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 156

Squash, acorn, baked 1/2 cup cubes 43

Sweet potato, canned, mashed 1/2 cup 61

Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added 1 cup 110

Wheat flour, whole-grain 1 cup 166

Yogurt, low fat varieties 1 cup (8 oz.) 37


Food You Should Avoid Like The Devil

14 Foods To Avoid

Gum

Carrots (any crisp vegetables)

Gummy bears and other chewy candy

Steak

Ice Cubes

Crisp, crunchy crackers

Nuts, peanuts, corn nuts

Bagels

Chewy pizza crust and breads

Hard fruit (whole apples, pears)

Spare ribs (other chewy meats)

Croutons (crisp salad fixings)

Raisins and other dried fruit

Popcorn, crunchy chips, sunflower seeds


A Few Meals Ideas

Breakfast Ideas

Instant breakfast Fruit (ripe, soft mashed or stewed)

Soft cereals (oatmeal or cream of wheat) Applesauce

Eggs (cooked any way) Cottage Cheese

Lunch & Dinner Ideas

Tuna, egg, crab or ham salad Chili

Chicken/turkey salad (fine texture) Stuffing

Cottage cheese, yogurt Pasta

Soft vegetables Lasagna

Mashed potatoes Tofu

Soft bread without crust Chicken/Turkey cut in small pieces

Scrambled beef with sauce, cheese Rice or Beans

Soup (of any kind) Macaroni and cheese

Fish (cut in small pieces) Chinese foods

Dessert Ideas

Ice Cream Pudding

Jell-O Baby food

Anything blended


TMJ Exercises These exercises are designed for people who have muscle related tension in the mouth, neck and shoulders, and experience pain in these areas. This overall sequence of exercises will help relieve the tension and reprogram the body to relax these areas. There will be some exercises that should be done several times throughout the day and others that you will do within the sequence to get maximum results. This eBook was written for you to become more aware of your tension and help you reprogram the muscles that are tensed. It is going to take some time and patience. The first thing is for you to become aware of your holdings and then practice letting the tension go. If you are committed, you will begin to see a difference. Make time for the exercises and your body will begin to feel relief. More importantly you will become more aware of your body, how stress affects it, and what to do to stay relaxed. Remember that it takes 14 days to make a new behavior a habit so mark your calendars and let's get started. There are several different types of exercises in this eBook. The categories include:

• Breathing exercises • Body exercises • Neck exercises • Mouth, tongue & throat exercises • Jaw exercises • Relaxation exercises

To start we are going to work on becoming more aware of our breathing. Here is why... When we breathe incorrectly, we end up startling our body and causing it to think that we are in trouble. Then we tense up. We can spend lots of time trying to figure out why we tense up. To fix it, our breathing is the first and most effective way to relax our muscles. I will teach you two breathing techniques and tell you why and when these should be used.


Breathing Exercises

What does your breathing trigger? First we have to become aware of how we breathe. Place one hand on top of your belly and one hand on your chest. Close your eyes and breathe in fully. Notice which hand moves. Do you breathe into your heart center or belly? Think about this... Oxygen generates energy and circulation. When you breathe into your heart center, you raise your heart rate which can cause a flight or fight reaction in your brain that then triggers your muscles to think they need to tense up. When we breathe into our bellies, we take the energy deeper and it creates a soothing sensation that eases our bodies and mind into deeper relaxation. The first thing you will need to work on is becoming aware of your breath and to breathe into the belly instead of the chest.


Exercise 1: Belly Breathing The belly breath is used to relax the body. If you have chronic muscle tension, it will take a while to reprogram your muscles, brain, and body to relax. This breathing is not so much an exercise, but should become a way of life, especially when you are in perceived stressful situations, so that you keep your body from thinking that it is in distress. First let's practice breathing into our belly: 1. Lay down on your back. 2. Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart. 3. Breathe regularly for a few breaths. 4. Now imagine that there is a balloon at the bottom of your belly and you have

to blow it up VERY slowly or it will pop. 5. Your breath should come in through the nose and travel deep down into the

belly filling up from the bottom to the top of the stomach. 6. Practice this for a few breaths. 7. Now slow the breath down and even it out. You should strive to breathe in for

6 seconds and out for 6 seconds. This is belly breathing and we will be using it after exercises that might raise our heart rates and also to practice integrating our breathing into everything that we do.


Exercise 2: Alternating Nostril Breathing This is a breathing exercise that has been around for thousands of years. It is known to yogis as Nadi Sodhana. What is known about the natural rhythm of our breathing is that when we are healthy, we alternate our breathing between nostrils. It is said that a healthy person’s body switches nostrils every 3 to 4 hours. Medical science (and yogis) have found that people who predominantly breathe out of one nostril have an increase of health problems. What Nadi Sodhana actually means is scraping out energy channels. So when you practice this type of breathing, you are scraping out any residue or junk that is in your energy channels which may be causing a disruption in the flow of your energetic system. Many times emotions are the root cause of why our body contracts. Practicing Nadi Sodhana can dislodge those emotions and help us re-pattern our body and muscles to go back to a safe, calm, and peaceful state. Another benefit of Nadi Sodhana is that it increases our brains ability to absorb information 3 times as much because it energizes both hemispheres of our brain and trains those sides to work together. This makes practicing this type of breathing a great way to start your day, before learning something new, or just as a jump start to shifting our awareness. Remember, that this is what we need to do, so that our muscles can allow our bones to naturally fit back into place. Let's get started. Let me explain the hand position first: 1. Take your right hand and place your pointer finger

and middle finger towards your palm. 2. Leave your little finger and ring finger together and

your thumb out. (At first this feels uncomfortable but it gets easier the more you do it.)


Now the breathing: 1. Sit in a comfortable position and close your right nostril with you right thumb.

Inhale through the left nostril for a count of 4. 2. With your right ring and little finger close your left nostril giving your nose a

little pinch. 3. Keeping your fingers on the left nostril, lift your thumb and exhale through

your right nostril for 4 counts. 4. Inhale through the same nostril (right) for 4 counts and then pinch your nose

close. 5. Lift your right ring and little finger and exhale for 4 counts through the left

nostril.


6. Inhale for 8 counts through the left nostril, pinch, open the right side and

exhale for 8 counts. Do 10 rounds of inhaling and exhaling for 8 counts. At the end of 10 rounds, place your palms facing up on top of your knees and take a few natural breaths in through your nostrils. Alternate nostril breathing should not be practiced if you have a cold or if your nasal passages are blocked in any way. Forced breathing through the nose may lead to complications.


Body Exercises We shall start learning and practicing the body exercises from the ground up. In most cases, it is regardless how your TMJ started. You may find that some exercises give you relief while others seem to have no effect. I would encourage you to practice all the exercises for 5 days and then choose the ones that you feel give you the most relief. The program is designed to start with the lowest and longest muscles first and then work up. This is because tension in the muscles of our lower half directly affects the upper half of our energetic body and tension in one area directly affects all the other muscles and bones in the body. It will be important to comprehend this idea and to illustrate this, we are going to think of our body in terms of rubber bands and wood… Imagine your muscles as rubber bands and your skeletal structure as wood. If one of the rubber bands were tight how would that affect our wood structure and the rest of the rubber bands? In our hips we have several important rubber bands. Imagine that in your calf you have a long rubber band that connects around your knee and hooks through several other rubber bands that connect up your spine. If that calf rubber band is tight it is going to pull all the other rubber bands it is connected to. See where this is going? As one rubber band pulls, the other rubber bands pull and so forth. Usually our tension doesn't start from the head down. It starts from our roots: our feet, our base, our foundation. We have to start here to keep the rest of our structure moving with ease. As you begin to do these exercises you will become more aware of what muscles hold the most tension. Throughout all exercises remember to engage the belly breath AND relax the jaw!!!


Exercise 3: Toes and Feet 1. Wiggle your toes and roll your ankles. 2. Stand up with knees slightly bent. 3. Roll to the right side of your feet and hold for 5 seconds while you engage

your deep breathing.

4. Roll to the left side of your feet and hold for 5 seconds remembering to relax your jaw.


Exercise 4: Calves 1. Go up to a wall and place both hands flat. Both toes should face the wall and

stay in that position. Check your feet and see if your toes are programmed to face straight, out to the sides, or inward. Remind yourself that a misalignment anywhere in the body can throw everything else off.

2. Bring your toes to face straight. Take a little bend in your right knee and move

your left foot back placing your toes on the ground while you are pushing the wall way from you. You are working on finding that spot where you are feeling sensation in the left calf.


3. Use a pulsing, up and down, motion into that calf 5 times and then hold the

stretch for 10 seconds. 4. Now switch. 5. Come away from the wall and

check those toes. With slightly bent knees put some weight on your toes and bring your heels out slightly.


Exercise 5: Hip Opener #1 Many different schools of practice (Occupational Therapy, Bioenergetics, Yoga) are appropriately aware of the connection between tension in hips and tension in the jaw. Throughout all these exercises remember to RELAX YOUR JAW. 1. Start with lying on your back. Bend your knees and bring your left ankle over

your right knee. Make sure that the right leg is bent in a 45 degree angle and that your left calf is parallel to the floor.

2. Press the left knee out. You want to feel a stretch in your left hip. 3. If you need more of a stretch take your hands and place them on your right

knee and pull that forward, making sure that you keep your spine flat on the floor.


4. Take 10 breathes here, breathing deep into the belly and then slowly out,

imagining the air bringing length into the hip and breathing out tension. 5. Before switching sides, keep your legs in that position and drop them to the

right side.

6. Look over to the left and close your eyes while thinking about something pleasant.

7. If smiling isn’t painful, you can put a smile on and take 10 belly breaths.


8. Bring your knees back to the center and unhook them. Relax them down for a breath and switch sides.


Exercise 6: Hip Opener #2 1. Come up to seated cross-legged position. Place your hands next to your hips

and straighten your spine imagining each vertebrae stacking on top of each other. You can take your hands next to your hips and press up, remembering to keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears.

2. Now stick your butt out behind you and place your butt back down. This helps

align your spine and give you some more room for your hips to move.


3. Cross your legs and try to get your knees as close to being on top of one

another as possible. If this is difficult then bring your feet away from the sides of your hips. This helps to adjust the spine and give you more room for your hips to move.


4. Lean over your legs while placing your hands out on the floor in front of you.

Pull your heart center (chest) up so you flatten your back. It may feel like you are arching up.

5. If you feel like you can move forward more walk your arms forward but don’t

collapse the chest. Stop when you feel sensation in the top hip. 6. Take 10 belly breaths and then switch legs.


Exercise 7: Spine Twist 1. Lie down on your back and bring your right knee into your chest.

2. Slowly take the right knee to the left side keeping a 45 degree angle.

3. Face right and press your left shoulder into the ground.


4. You can have your hands out to the sides or place the right hand on top of the

left knee giving it some resistance. 5. Take 5 rounds of alternating breathing breaths looking to the right. 6. Inhale both knees back into the chest and exhale them down. 7. Switch and repeating on the left side.


Exercise 8: Shoulders 1. Stand and bend your knees slightly. Allow yourself to inhale fully while

bringing your shoulders up to your ears. 2. When you can’t inhale anymore hold your breath and squeeze your fists,

shoulders, and jaw. 3. As you exhale let out an AHHHHH. Relax your jaw. 4. Drop your jaw, shoulders and let your hands spread open while bouncing

your knees and shaking your arms down. 5. Think about getting the junk out. Do this 5 times.


Neck Exercises

Exercise 9: Lengthening The Neck 1. Sit up in a comfortable position. Find a place that you can rest your back on,

either a couch or chair.

2. Use your belly breath and imagine breathing space into each vertebra

between your shoulders and head. 3. Now every time you breathe imagine a string coming out of the crown of the

head. As you inhale a strong force pulls the string up. When you exhale your shoulders and body relax down. Focus on this while you take 10 belly breaths.


Exercise 10: Neck Stretching #1 1. Stand up. Take your right pointer finger over your head and stick it into your

left ear.

2. Tilt your head, eyes looking forward and

chin slightly facing up. Relax your jaw. 3. Pull your left hand down towards the

ground. You should feel a nice stretch from the left side of your neck through the top of the shoulder.

4. Take 5 deep belly breaths and repeat on

the other side.


Exercise 11: Neck Stretching #2 1. Look left over your left shoulder. Find a spot on the wall behind you.

2. Return to forward. 3. Take your left hand and place it on the left side of your chin.


4. Press your hand as you push your chin into your hand. 5. Count to 10. Think about relaxing your jaw. 6. Release your hand and look back over that left shoulder. Can you see

further? 7. Take your chin to your left shoulder and feel the stretch up the right side of

the neck. Think about the top of your head being very heavy and tilt it slightly back without moving your chin.


8. Inhale your head up and with an exhale drop the right ear to the right side.

9. Hold for a few seconds and switch sides.


Exercise 12: Neck Stretching #3 1. Take your chin to your chest. Interlace your fingers around the back of your

head and let the weight of your arms stretch the back of your neck.

2. Don’t pull the neck but let gravity work its magic. Relax your jaw. 3. Enjoy this stretch and think about it lengthening the muscles that start from

your hips. 4. Take 5 Deep Breathes. 5. Take a few moments, lift your head up and release your hands.


Exercise 13: Neck Stretching #4 To stretch the muscles in the front of your neck we have to be careful to keep good alignment. 1. First, align your shoulders. Inhale the shoulders up and exhale them back and

down. 2. Tilt your head back continuing to lift your chest. 3. Make a circular motion with your shoulders in the flow of your breath. Inhale

them up exhale them back down. 4. Do this 5 times.


Mouth, Tongue & Throat Exercises There are many short exercises to choose from in this section. Practice all of them in this sequence at least 5 times within a week. Then choose 3-5 that give you the most relief and do them throughout the day.

Exercise 14: Expand The Muscles Of Your Mouth #1 This is similar to popping your ears during a plane ride and it may take a few attempts before you master it. 1. Separate your teeth so that you can stick the tip of your tongue through them. 2. Softly seal your lips and relax your tongue. 3. Push air into the right side of our mouth. 4. Push the left side of your mouth in so that you are creating pressure in the

right side.


5. Hold for 5 seconds and then relax. 6. Do this five times. Notice the difference between the right side and left side of

your cheek. Switch sides.


Exercise 15: Expand The Muscles Of Your Mouth #2 1. Seal your lips, separate your teeth as much as possible without separating

your mouth.

2. Blow air into your mouth so that your cheeks puff out on both sides. The more

you can puff out your cheeks out the more of an expansion you’re going to get in those muscles.

3. Now control the air and circulate it from the left cheek, to the front, then to the

right cheek.


4. Do this slowly noticing where you want to clench. 5. Now push the air out of your mouth sticking your tongue out and opening your

mouth really really wide while dropping your jaw down. This is called the Lions Breath and it is used to exhale tension. Using it is another way to vocally exhale tension.

6. Gently close your mouth. 7. Complete 4 more rounds.


Exercise 16: Strengthen The Muscles Of Your Mouth 1. Take out your favorite poem, book, news paper, or anything that inspires you. 2. Take a plastic cap (from a water or soda bottle) and place it inside the front of

your mouth.

3. Read out loud exaggerating each word. All sounds will be challenging. Let the challenge be to not tense up your muscles rather than trying to pronounce the words.

This exercise is to retrain our mouth to speak. It is great because we are lengthening those muscles that want to tighten. This will take some time but it will also be a good gauge for progress.


Exercise 17: Strengthen Your Throat 1. Take a gulp of water in your mouth. 2. Swish it around and toss it from the left to

right side of your mouth. 3. Tilt your head back and gargle the water as

deep into your throat as possible. 4. Do this for 10 seconds and swallow slowly. 5. Now pretend that you have water in your mouth and gargle without tilting your

head back. 6. Seal your lips. Open the back of your throat wide and generate hot air through

your mouth.

7. Practice this for 10 seconds and then relax.


Exercise 18: Strengthen Your Tongue #1 1. With you teeth separated, slightly take the tip of your tongue to the roof of

your mouth. 2. Lightly make 10 circle 8's on the top of your roof. 3. Then take the tip of your tongue from the front part of the roof to the back 10

times. 4. Change directions for 10 swipes and relax.


Exercise 19: Strengthen Your Tongue #2 1. Stick your tongue out and with a slow motion lick your lips.

2. Using a circular motion go from licking your lips to the top front of you teeth. 3. Start in the front where the gums hit your teeth.

4. Go left and right 5 times. 5. Now try the bottom. 6. You will have to pop the fatty part of your tongue out as much as possible to

get each tooth.

Try this after each meal.


Exercise 20: Strengthen Your Tongue #3 1. Stick out your tongue as far as possible.

2. Point the tip down for 5 seconds and then up for 5 seconds.

3. Return it to neutral. 4. Repeat 4 times.


Exercise 21: Strengthen Your Tongue #4 If you are familiar with Spanish, you can practice it at this time… Think about the pronunciation of vowels for Spanish words. I learned this by thinking about my mouth starting really wide and then gradually, with every vowel, getting smaller till it ended in a perfect O. 1. Open your mouth by dropping your jaw loosely. Try to hit a perfectly pitched

AHHH sound.

2. Bring your jaw up slightly and relax the corners of your mouth. Make an

AAAAA sound.

3. Bring your jaw up a little more and let the back of your tongue touch the roof

of your mouth while the tip of tongue lay on the bottom of your mouth. Make an EEEEEEE sound.


4. Tighten your lips to form a very small O while keeping your teeth wide. Make an OOOOOOO sound.

5. Now keeping your lips in the O shape but shift your bottom jaw up and out

slightly. Make a UUUU sound.

6. Put that all together AHHHHH, AAAAAA, EEEEE, OOOOO, UUUUUU.. 5

times


Jaw Exercises You will be using massaging, expanding, and stretching techniques during the next few exercises. I recommend practicing these several times a day before and after everything especially before falling asleep and getting out of bed in the morning. The more the better!

Exercise 22: Jaw Massage #1 1. Let’s start with taking our right index finger and placing the knuckle in the

hinge of our jaw. 2. Follow your right cheek bone up and apply pressure into those muscles. 3. Hold each tight spot for five seconds. 4. While doing this place your focus on your belly breath and the words that you

had written.


Exercise 23: Jaw Massage #2 1. Take your right pointer finger and middle finger and place them below the

cheek bone near your ear. You should feel a natural dip between the bottom of the cheek bone and the top of your jaw.

2. Hold pressure in this spot for 5 seconds. 3. Then with pressure, comb those muscles in a downward direction following

the jaw line.


4. Explore what areas feel the most tender or have lumps. 5. When you get to those areas, vibrate your fingers over them for a few

seconds before continuing to pull the tension downward. 6. When you reach the bottom of the jaw line follow that to your chin.

7. Once at your chin, make a few circular motions with your fingers and return to

the top. Every time you start a new round try to use a little more pressure. Complete 5 rounds on each side. It would be common to feel a headache or pressure in the middle of your forehead. If you do, BREATHE into this area and imagine relaxing it. Your breath is going to be your best remedy to releasing tension. You should stop at these tender spots and BELLY BREATHE for about 5 relaxing breaths.


Exercise 24: Jaw Stretching #1 1. Now open your mouth slowly dropping your chin down.

2. Tilt your skull back while lifting your forehead up.

3. Inhale through your mouth and let a big sigh out. Think about it as the sign of

tension easing out of your jaw. 4. Slowly come back to neutral and repeat steps 4 more times.


Exercise 25: Jaw Stretching #2 1. We are going to stretch the chin

forward. You want to feel energy in this stretch and that is going to have the sensation of shaking. Shaking is good and healthy.

2. Let your jaw shake as much as

possible. 3. Hold for 5 seconds and return to a

neutral position. 4. Repeat 4 times, but each time, hold

longer till you master 10 seconds. Now we are going to stretch the right side. 1. Move the jaw to the right side and

hold for 5 seconds. 2. Return it to center and repeat 4

times till you master 10 seconds. 3. Continue repeat on the left side.


Exercise 26: Strengthen Your Jaw #1 1. Seal your lips together and separate your teeth slightly. 2. Now make a MMMM sound and slowly move your jaw up and down like you

are chewing something.

3. Practice this for 30 seconds. 4. Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and swallow. 5. Repeat twice.


Exercise 27: Strengthen Your Jaw #2 1. Open your mouth wide and tilt your head back slightly. 2. Inhale deeply and expand your ribs out. 3. Exhale like you are going to yawn (maybe you will and that will trigger your

body to relax more)

4. Practice this 5 times. When you spontaneously yawn, take on this position. Our yawns trigger our bodies that we need to relax. Stretch that jaw nice and wide and let out a big sign. DON’T worry about what people are thinking... You are striving for relaxation NOT politeness.


Relaxation Exercises There are many ways that people relax but some are helpful to their muscles and others are just ways that we distract from things. When we have powerful muscle contractions that become chronic we first have to become aware of what triggers those contractions. So during meditations/relaxation exercises the goal is to focus on one thing and one thing only. For those who have chronic muscle contractions the most effective thing to focus on is relaxation. Easier said than done! Here are a few easy practices you can do to start making your way from pain to a happier life. Each one is different but all can be used during our busy lives.

Exercise 28: Relaxation #1 - Car ride relaxation 1. First turn off the music. 2. Align yourself sitting up tall and having a slight bend in your knees and your

hands at 10 and 2. 3. Now bring awareness to your breath. Are you holding your breath? Are you

breathing into your heart center? Shift the breath into the belly and slow it down. Nice slow, deep breaths into your belly.

4. Practice just breathing as you watch the world around you. 5. As you continue, notice how hard or easy your breathing changes as things

change on the road. Try to keep your awareness on your breathe and use this time to become aware of your reactions to things you don’t have control over.


Exercise 29: Relaxation #2 - Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Routine 1. Push your tongue against the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth

(this relaxes and unclasp your jaw) 2. Lift your eyebrows very slightly as if you’re wide awake (this is to relax the

muscles in your eyes and forehead). 3. Put a smile on your face (this relaxes all the facial muscles).


Exercise 30: Relaxation #3 - Rag doll 1. Stand in a comfortable position with your knees bent

slightly. 2. Let you arms hang loose until they feel heavy and

relaxed. 3. Keeping feet, legs and waist very steady, swing the top

half of your body to left and right so your shoulders and head are also facing left and right as you do this. Your arms will wrap loosely around your body as you do so.

4. Develop this swinging motion one way, then the other. 5. Let your arms go loose and keep twisting from left to

right. 6. Let it all go... tension.... fears.... thoughts. 7. Continue to have a nice bend in your knees and swing

the top portion of your body to the left and to the right. 8. Your arms will wrap around one way, then swing back

the other- always swinging loosely, fingers relaxed. 9. Swing one way, then the other, until the weight of your

arms is sufficient to turn your body. 10. Optional: As one arm passes in front of your body (the

other will be behind), you can bend your knees a few inches to create a ‘pumping’ action as well as a ‘swinging’ motion. This improves circulation to the lower part of your body.

11. Continue for two minutes.... while breathing!


Exercise 31: Relaxation #4 - Bed Time Relaxation For this relaxation exercise, you are going to need two coins and a flat rock. 1. Before lying down in bed, write down all the things that upset you throughout

the day and things that you are worried about accomplishing. 2. On another sheet of paper write down things you need to do tomorrow and

things you want to do. 3. Lay down and prop a pillow underneath the curve of your neck so that when

you lay your neck on top of it, your head tilts back. I would suggest letting your head just lay on the bed without touching the pillow.

4. Close your eyes and relax your forehead so there are no creases (this helps

reduce wrinkles as well!) 5. Place the flat rock in the middle of your forehead as a reminder to relax your

brow. 6. Place the coins over your eyes to help relax them. 7. Now go into your belly breathe and for every exhale imagine you are melting

into your bed like butter. 8. With every inhale imagine your muscles lengthening. 9. Visualize both of these processes as you continue to lay there and focus on

this process. 10. If you have other thoughts run in and out of your consciousness just notice

them and return your awareness back to you breath and relaxation.


Exercise 32: Relaxation #5 - Morning Routine 1. When you wake up, sit at the side of your bed for a few minutes. 2. Place your feet on the floor and choose one exercise from the above to

practice before getting out of bed. 3. Now say “I will bring more awareness to relaxing today.” Or something along

these lines 3 times. 4. Practice 10 alternating breathing breaths and you are ready to have a great

day!!!


Conclusion My hope is that these exercises will help your TMJ pain and ultimately cure it. If you are finding relief, we would like to hear about your story. Please contact us through the www.TMJ-Help.org website and tell us about your experience. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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