Natural Medicine for TMJ

Traditional Chinese medicine and naturopathic medicine may offer effective treatments for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders (TMD).

TMJ disorders are a group of medical conditions that cause the jaw joint to be sore and painful. This joint connects the lower jaw, called the mandible, to the temporal bone of the skull, which is located in front of the ear on both sides of the head. The temporomandibular joint allows the jaw to move up and down and side to side. These movements are important for many functions, including talking, chewing food and yawning.

TMJ disorders are often divided into three categories: myofascial pain, internal derangement and arthritis. Myofascial pain is the most common TMJ disorder. It occurs when the muscles that control the jaw are sore or tender; the cause remains unknown. Internal derangement of the joint occurs when the joint becomes injured by a blow to the jaw. The injury may dislocate the jaw or displace a disc. Internal derangement may also damage the rounded ends of the lower jaw (called condyles). Arthritis, which causes inflammation and swelling of joints, is another form of TMJ. A patient may have one or more of these TMJ disorders, which may affect one or both sides of the jaw.

The exact number of people who have TMJ disorders remains unknown. However, as many as 10 million Americans experience symptoms related to TMJ disorders, according to the National institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). For unknown reasons, these disorders occur more often in women than men. In general, TMJ disorders are most likely to develop in individuals who are 20-40 years old.

Researchers from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, assessed the feasibility and acceptability of studying whole systems of traditional Chinese medicine and naturopathic medicine in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders and investigated whether there is indication to support further research.

The study compared whole system traditional Chinese medicine and naturopathic medicine to state-of-the-art specialty care in 160 women 25-55 years of age attending a Kaiser Permanente Northwest TMD specialty clinic.

The intervention protocols were designed to model the individually tailored type of community care offered in alternative medicine practices in Portland and in the Kaiser Permanente Northwest TMD clinic. The protocols enhanced similarities among practitioners within each system and permitted full descriptions of the treatments provided.

The study found that traditional Chinese medicine and naturopathic medicine demonstrated significantly greater in-treatment reductions for worst facial pain compared to specialty care and at three months post-treatment. Additionally, traditional Chinese medicine provided significantly greater decreases in average pain than specialty care; naturopathic medicine provided significantly greater decreases than specialty care or traditional Chinese medicine in psychosocial interference related to TMJ disorders.

The authors concluded that these alternative medicine approaches resulted in significantly greater reductions of pain and psychosocial interference than specialty care. They suggested that further research on the potential benefits of traditional whole systems of medicine for TMJ disorders may be warranted.

Several other medical problems, including sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue syndrome, and a painful condition (called fibromyalgia) that affects the muscles and other soft tissues in the body, have been associated with TMJ disorders. However, it is unknown if these health problems share a common cause with TMJ disorders.

Because the cause of many TMJ disorders remains unknown, there is no known method of prevention.

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