Posted by Joey on October 16, 2001 at 09:59:33:
In Reply to: Re: Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) posted by Tom Mason on October 16, 2001 at 07:45:25:
I was diagnosed with TMJ about 3 years ago. My jaw would start to hurt every time I would an etude. I could play excerpts, solos even flexibility exercises but every time I was assigned an etude my jaw would kill me right underneath my ear. My teacher at the time suggested it might be TMJ and I go see a dentist. After some x-rays and some picking around in there sure enough I had TMJ. The dentist assured me this wasn't a reason to worry. I was fitted for what looks like a football mouthpiece and wore it every night for about a year. I haven't worn it since. And I have no pain when I play anything. Go get it checked, it may be caught early enough that it can be fixed.