Tense jaw?
Mvila0
Posts: 12 Member
Hey y'all,
I've been eating at a deficit for about six weeks now, working with a doctor and nutritionist. Not doing any specific diet (except cutting down sugar a bit because I'm pre-diabetic), just calorie in calorie out deficit.
Anyway, maybe the past week, my jaw has felt tense. It's not painful the way it was when a medication I was on caused TMJ-like symptoms (I stopped taking that med and hadn't had problems in the years since). It's just kind of tight, almost sore, like I've chewed on something tough for too long.
I'm wondering if it's because of stress because of eating at a deficit (I used to emotionally binge) or maybe some nutrients I'm missing?
Going to bring it up with my doctor at an appointment I have in a couple of weeks but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts or insight.
I've been eating at a deficit for about six weeks now, working with a doctor and nutritionist. Not doing any specific diet (except cutting down sugar a bit because I'm pre-diabetic), just calorie in calorie out deficit.
Anyway, maybe the past week, my jaw has felt tense. It's not painful the way it was when a medication I was on caused TMJ-like symptoms (I stopped taking that med and hadn't had problems in the years since). It's just kind of tight, almost sore, like I've chewed on something tough for too long.
I'm wondering if it's because of stress because of eating at a deficit (I used to emotionally binge) or maybe some nutrients I'm missing?
Going to bring it up with my doctor at an appointment I have in a couple of weeks but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts or insight.
1
Replies
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Hey! Firstly, please take everything that I'm about to write with a huge pinch of salt, because I haven't a clue but I have some ideas!
I'm an emotional eater and I have this sense that where food was helping to regulate me (albeit in a not healthy way) I am now looking for others things to take over, so I don't continue to use food in this way. So I'm wondering if you are "white-knuckling" it? Ie are you going for will power alone or have you got things in place to support your mental health throughout this?
I think it totally could be a nutrient thing too, so it's certainly a great idea to check with a doc on that.
I know from a friend of mine that her TMJ issues were brought on by stress. I remember her getting help from her doc on treating the TMJ symptoms but also in dealing with her stress, which eventually resolved the issue.
Something I keep harping on about, because I found it so helpful, is an exercise from the book "Burnout", they talk about how for so many of us our stresses are more mental, not physical, compared to our ancestors and that we aren't getting a chance to burn off the stress through movement like we would have in the past. They outline an exercise where you visualise what is stressing you and work out that stressful energy, I use a DIY punchbag (made out of an old drybag filled with pillows) and I take to punching that while visualising my stressor, it really helps! But you might have something else that helps, here's a recording of the authors explaining it.
Feel free to send me a friend request
https://youtu.be/H2vs84z_qpw3 -
Have you had an uncommon amount of life stress lately?
Maybe you are grinding your teeth at night, which could cause a sore jaw.
Or, have you been having any sinus problems? An impacted sinus cavity can cause jaw pain.
If your doctor doesn't have any ideas, you could see a dentist for an opinion as well.1 -
After I lost the night time teeth guard my dentist made for me I tried several OTC versions and settled on this:
https://smile.amazon.com/DenTek-Comfort-Fit-Protection-Nightime-Grinding/dp/B002WTCK4Q/
I couldn't use the type you boil to custom fit because the plastic taste was unbelievably nasty.
The above were supposed to be good for a year but while they are somewhat beat up, they are still going, almost two years in.1 -
I think it's unlikely to be a clear and direct result of weight loss alone, especially if you've been losing at a sensibly moderate rate.
A calorie deficit is a stress, sure; and it's cumulative with other stressors that may be in our life, either physical ones or psychological ones. If you have other stressors in your life, it's possible that the deficit helped push stress symptoms over the edge into jaw tension. If so, working on stress management would be a good idea. (Heck, it's always a good idea, to some extent!)
Have you started a new exercise routine alongside weight loss? Sometimes particular exercises can tighten particular muscles and result in something like this. If so, targeted stretching exercises or self-massage may help. (If doing self massage around neck/jaw, be careful about compressing important blood vessels in your neck for more than an instant.)
Along a similar line, how much weight have you lost, or more applicably, how much shape have you changed? I found that when I'd lost a meaningful amount of weight, I sometimes had to adjust my pillow or other aspects of sleeping position, in order to avoid new tensions in my body, because my shape was different enough that my spine was bending or twisting more in the old positions. I don't know whether that's unusual, but it happened for me. (Six weeks seems pretty fast for that much change, but it's possible, I guess.)
Just a couple of extra thoughts for you to consider. Mostly, I agree with those commenting above. I've used a custom (dentist-made) night guard for literally decades now, for similar reasons. Tooth gritting or grinding at night is fairly common, and worth interrupting: It's hard on teeth. I first got my guard after needing a couple of root canals from bearing down for a long time on those teeth!
Best wishes getting to the root cause and solution(s)!
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Magnesium supplements for a week helped my daughter when she had jaw tension.1
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I once had TMJ and it wasn't caused by stress or medication. At the time I was spending my hours at work reading files on my computer screens. I wasn't entering data; I was just reviewing the files. I had a U-shaped work station and while I was working I'd have my right hand on my mouse, rest my left elbow on my desk, and rest my chin on my left hand. The constant pressure on my chin caused the TMJ. Once I stopped that habit, and stopped chewing gum (which I had been doing more than usual to help with my weightloss) the TMJ went away and has never come back.
I'm not suggesting that that is the cause of your jaw problem, but sometimes small, seemingly inconsequential habits that we have can lead to bigger problems. Its never a bad thing to do a self-assessment regarding where your stress levels are sitting, but also review any physicalities that could be contributing to it.1 -
You're probably clinching and possibly grinding your teeth at night. I wouldn't think that really has anything to do with losing weight. I do that more when I'm stressed out in general but also tend to do it anyways and have to wear a night guard.1
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