TMJ (Tempero Mandibular Joint) Pain While Tongue Blocking
Hi All,
I've just started learning harmonica and have been experiencing left-sided TMJ pain while attempting lesson 1.1 Tongue Agility. Anyone else experience this? Are there any exercises that may lessen the discomfort?
Thanks.
prsnrs
I also started having TMJ pain about 1 month ago and have had to take a break from my harmonica. I have difficulty moving my jaw at all such as for eating. Went to my doctor and he told me to try putting a warm moist cloth in my jaw for 10 to 20 minutes at a time, avoid hard/chewey foods (popcorn, bread, tough meats, gum, apples, carrots, etc.), and he gave me some physical therapy.
I started harmonica lessons in January and had to stop practicing in July. Unfortunately it's taking a while but I am hopeful it will eventually resolve by following the doctors recommendations. It's a little better now but still causes me pain daily. I do not want to undergo any surgery for my TMJ if I can avoid it.
Hopefully yours isn't as bad as mine. If you take a break from the harmonica and try the warm compresses hopefully you'll get some relief.
Just to clarify, I have no idea what caused my TMJ disorder. I just know that since I've had it I've been unable to use my harmonica. I'm really looking forward to when I can get back to it!
prsnrs,
Sorry to hear your having pain. I am not experiencing this so my 2 cents probably isn't worth a half a penny. When I first started playing there were several things I could not do physically because I did not have the muscle tone in my jaw and face/lips. After a day or two I noticed a small amount of pain, like what one would get when not having exercised in a long while and decides to get in shape. Over a few weeks the pain was going and my muscles in my face where strong enough to let me do what I needed to do. Unless you have a history of TMJ my guess would be to take a break for a few days and let things recover then try again, or play for short periods of time and stop before the pain sets in. Hopefully over time you will be able to play longer.
With other activities in the past, I have had severe joint pain in my elbows because of poor muscle tone in my forearms. As a result, this put more stress on my tendons. The fix was to rest until the pain went away and then exercise the forearm muscles for very short periods of time until the muscle became stronger.
My other thought on this is that you are not relaxing while playing. Pay special attention to how tight your muscles are in your jaw, face, neck, and shoulders. If you notice tight muscles, shake them off, take some deep breaths and try playing again.
I just remembered this. When I first started learning a harmonica and I was evaluating several online courses one of the instructors made the comment to not pull your lower jaw back while you play as this has been known to cause jaw pain. Sorry I can’t remember what website that information came from. I think this would fall in the category of my earlier comment about relaxing the muscles in your jaw and face.
I hope this helps or someone else will lead you in the right direction.
Brian in Tennessee