A Tale of TMJ Woe and Relief!
About two years ago I had a traumatic event cause my jaw to start locking, over the first few weeks it would start to get sore after eating a lot or talking for a long time. Then I started to wake up with it hurting, then it would hurt all day. At its worse I couldn’t open my mouth wider than an inch and it was excruciating. I could barely eat or talk. Yawning would cause my jaw to pop loudly. I started to and do still talk crooked from my jaw pulling to one side.
My first stop was my dentist to ask if my fillings were causing my jaw not to set right or to see what they recommended. He said it would go away on its own.
3 months later I went back to the dentist still feeling the pain- they recommended an expensive mouth guard to stop me from clenching my teeth at night. I bought it- tried it for a month- but found it was making things worse.
Next stop was a TMJ “specialist” here in Glendale. He recommended braces for 2 years, to pull my upper teeth lower and my lower teeth higher- and then his own invention (not fda approved or ANYONE approved for that matter) that was a lower and upper mouth guard that I would wear for another 2-6 years. He didn’t take xrays, he didn’t feel my jaw. He just walked in with the hard sell . $10k total for this treatment.
Soooo with a recommendation I started seeing a personal trainer for physical therapy- 10 weeks later I learned some nice stretches and felt a little better but had no relief. The physical therapist told me to do 10 weeks of Rolfing and 10 weeks of acupuncture and that would cure me. I was wary of acupuncture so I chose to just try Rolfing. Rolfing went great, it’s essentially a hardcore massage that resets all of your muscles. It worked great- I got 50% improvement from my first few visits but then it dropped off.
So I sat here, over my most stressful holiday season with my jaw getting tighter and tighter from stress until I couldn’t take it anymore. My therapist recommended an acupuncturist and I made an appointment.
The first visit I felt no different. After the second visit my pain was gone for a day and a half! After my third visit my pain was gone for 3 whole days, and after my fourth visit my jaw was healed.
Last week I was able to eat an apple on the core for the first time in 2 years because I could finally open my jaw wide enough.
I’m still continuing my 10 weeks of acupuncture for maximum benefit and am just blown away by how well it worked for me. I can not recommend it enough! Surprisingly and unfortunately acupuncture was also the cheapest option I tried .
If you made it all the way down here thanks for reading Zen has a gift and is an angel! Go see her! – Suzy B. – 3/6/20 – 5- star Yelp Review# 48
I came after being unable to find a TMJ specialist that could see me soon. I emailed as a last resort not knowing what else to do and it was the best decision ever. Zen and Kathleen are both very nice, welcoming, and professional. I was experiencing the worst pain of my life and after 2 weeks of coming, I am a billion times better. I’m currently not in any pain and am only experiencing slight discomfort. This will work wonders for you and I am so happy I started coming – Stephanie U. – 12/16/2019 – 5- star Yelp Review# 47
Acupuncture is a powerful tool for pain relief. Watch our founder, Zen, speak about her patient with severe jaw pain. The patient also found relief for the anxiety and depression she was experiencing.