Acupuncture for TMJ

Acupuncture Effective for TMJ

From the TCM perspective, TMJ is related to a Stomach functional disorder as well as a disorder of the Stomach meridians (energetic).  Stomach meridians run through both sides of the jaw area. Because of stress causing an energy imbalance, the Stomach’s energy stagnates—something is stuck—and then this area of the body will show the effects of that stagnation; pain.

The reason that clenching, grinding and TMJ show up at night is because during the day the conscious mind is busy, distracted; its attention is turned to different things, turned in a different direction. At night, the conscious mind goes to sleep, but you still have not processed some things very well. From the perspective of Chinese psychology you are “overeating”: your life has things which you are trying to “eat,” but cannot “swallow.” For example, you may have a big project coming up at work. You are trying to bite something, and trying to chew it. TMJ is like an emotional chewing on the level of the subconscious. In the West, we have the expression, “Something’s eating you.” You are trying to chew something that you cannot, or are not able, to chew. In some way, in the daytime you didn’t finish processing the issue, so during the night, during sleep, you still continue to chew it. You also have the expression, “You’ve bit off more than you can chew.” Very often, this health problem is related to a large amount of stress in life, like a big project or an overwhelming problem; many things are behind TMJ.

If you really want to fix this kind of problem, you have to learn how to let things go. If you can learn how to let things go in an emotional way, then acupuncture and herbs will help your TMJ.   Research conducted at the Ribeirão Preto Dental School, São Paulo University in Brazil, found that after 3 months of acupuncture, patients with TMJ experienced significantly less pain, increased strength of their bite and decreased EMG activity of the masticatory muscles.

Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJ disorders) are problems or symptoms of the chewing muscles and joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull.  17 patients were studied using acupuncture points for TMJ.  EMG measures were acquired before and after the treatment. The data collected at rest, protrusion, left and right laterality, and clenching were normalized by maximum voluntary contraction. Maximal bite force in right and left molar regions were also measured.
The researchers found decreased EMG activity at rest, protrusion, left and right laterality, and clenching; as well as increased values of maximal bite force after acupuncture treatment.

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15 Issue 12: December 15, 2009

People suffering from TMJ can help themselves by massaging the following points: Hegu (Large Intestine 4, located on the middle of the second metacarpal bone); Jiache (Stomach 6, located in the lower portion of the masseter or jaw muscle, the area that expands when you bite your upper and lower teeth together); and Tinggong (Small Intestine 19, located in front of the ear in the spot where there is a “hole” when the jaw is opened). Massaging these points can bring temporary relief from the side effects of TMJ, such as headaches, jaw tension and neck pain. 

However, to really fix this kind of problem  for the long term, you have to examine the root cause of your emotional stress and work to remove or release this stress.