More and more people are getting afflicted with TMJ syndrome in US and in various other countries of the world. Hence the awareness regarding this affliction is increasing all over the world. Awareness is also increasing regarding its various signs and symptoms and various modes of treatment. In this article we will be discussing the symptoms of TMJ syndrome and how they get mixed up with the Eagle’s syndrome.
TMJ syndrome symptoms can range from mild jaw joint pains to severe agonizing headaches, ear pain, tinnitus that can actually lead a person to insanity as a person goes crazy with the hissing, buzzing sound in his/her ears. All though the primary symptoms of TMJ can easily be identified, the secondary or unusual symptoms often prove deceptive. For example, TMJ can sometimes cause light sensitivity or even hazy visions and also pain in and around the eyeballs which is caused due to the inflamed tissues around the affected joint. But these particular symptoms can mislead the medic into looking for the cause in optical problems like Fuchs’s dystrophy or keratitis. Similarly, another indirect symptom of TMJ problem is the numbness of the fingers which can also be caused by alcoholic neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, cerevical spondylosis or many other disorders.
However, in the case of TMJ it is caused by the misalignment of the jaws and incorrect bite, which puts undue stress on the muscles associated with the jaws, neck and the shoulder and puts them into spasms. As a result, the nerves that reach to the fingers and hand also get affected and the tingling sensation occurs.
Connection Between The TMJ Syndrome and The Eagle’s Syndrome
However, the picture becomes even more complicated and complex when the temporomandibular joint pain is mixed up with the stylomandibular Ligament pain that actually occurs in Eagle’s syndrome. The problem in both cases is somewhat similar involving the jaw but in the Eagle’s syndrome the main problem is caused by the stylohyoid ligament.
The styloid formation is basically a bone at the skull’s base which is further attached with the tendons and muscles to the throat and adjoining body organs. If this bone gets calcified it gets stuck into the jaw or into the throat and causes problem in swallowing. If the case becomes chronic even the simple act of turning the head can lead to serious pain. Eagle’s syndrome is a crippling disease that leads to malnutrition and often causes serious weight loss against TMJ syndrome that thought painful is not as oppressive as this.
Eagle’s syndrome is also looked upon as a lesser but vital factor in glossopharyngeal neuralgia that can at times turn fatal if accompanied with cardiac problems. It can lead to serious weight loss even when cardiac issues are not present. Any given day, Eagle’s syndrome and not TMJ dysfunction is looked upon by medics as an important factor in aggravating glossopharyngeal secondary neuralgia.
For the sake of proper identification we are presenting the symptoms associated with Eagle’s syndrome. TMJ pain, eye-ache, sensitive teeth, throat pain which increases during the process of swallowing food and tonillar discomfort and other symptoms of the stylohyoid elongations.
Treatment of Ernest or Eagle’s Syndrome is possible through using oral splints, NSAIDs that relieve pain, anesthetic injection locally injected at the affected ligament. Also, radiofrequency thermoneurolysis is proving effective in the treatment of various symptoms of Eagle’s syndrome to some measure.
Relief from Eagle’s syndrome can also be achieved with the help of Prolotherapy. Prolotherapy works by strengthening the stylomandibular ligament, as most of the associated symptoms occur due to weakness in that area. Prolotherapy is safe and is proving effecting to a great extent in the repair of ligaments and cartilage naturally. It creates a passive inflammation in the damaged ligament and as the body tires to heal through the inflammation Prolotherapy accelerates the healing procedure.
TMJ Cure Through Permanent TMJ Treatment
It is required that immediate relief from the pain and related discomfort should be made available to the TMJ syndrome sufferer. There are many treatment options available in the market which are as varied as surgeries and drugs to over the counter medications, and exercises to home made remedies for TMJ. But the only problem with most of these modes of treatment is that most of them only provide a temporary relief, as they only treat the symptoms and not the actual cause.
Permanent relief from TMJ syndrome can be attained through holistic remedies as they analyze or the underlying causes leading to the problem and eradicate them completely. Once all the root causes are treated the symptoms of course automatically vanish and never get a chance to come back. This reason definitely makes the holistic remedies the best treatment option for the temporomandibular joint dysfunction.
