Klarinet Archive - Posting 000960.txt from 1999/04

From: "Meridith Miller" <miller1940@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] TMJ treatment and playing
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 23:28:56 -0400

I have been playing clarinet for 7 years now, all of which I have been
troubled by TMJ. It wasn't diagnosed until late in my sophomore year,
when I began treatment. I was fitted for an appliance that I wear
only at night, and it resets the position of my jaw. After just a
week I noticed that during the day my jaw would naturally go into the
position that it was in at night. After two years of treatment I
didn't think that there was any more improvement, so I went back to my
dentist, again, and asked him about it. He said that with the
extensive amount of playing that I do, the way my jaw is now is that
way it will be until I can get a very expensive oral surgery to put
that cartilage back in place. The suggestion that has helped me the
most is to take asprin. It is an anti-inflammatory, and helps
relieve the pressure on my jaw. I take one in the morning to make it
easier to eat, and two about an hour before I play. It dasn't done
great things for my stomach lining, but it has greatly improved my
comfort level while playing.
I hope some of this helps someone with the same horrible condition as
me.
Meridith Jane

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