Myofascial pain disorder is a chronic condition that causes inflammation of connective tissues covering the muscles. Often the result of tendons, ligaments or muscle groups suffering long-term, harmful effects of repetitive muscle contractions, myofascial pain disorder commonly affects people with jobs that require constant overuse of a particular muscle (usually elbow, wrist or shoulder muscles). Symptoms of myofascial pain are “triggered” when other parts of the body not associated with the area that is suffering pain is activated by movement.
Myofascial pain does not heal on its own. Instead, people with this disorder experience worsening symptoms unless treatment is initiated. Doctors are not sure what causes myofacial pain but speculate that the site of the injury seems to provoke the development of a specific “trigger point” that produces pain in unrelated areas of the body. For this reason, doctors may sometimes refer to myofascial pain as “referred pain”.
Symptoms of Myofascial Pain Disorder
*Persistent, worsening ache in a muscle, or muscles
*Muscle tenderness or “knotlike” feeling in the muscles
*Disruption of daily activities due to the severity of pain
*Fatigue, irritability and depression caused by coping with chronic pain
Myofascial Pain Disorder and TMJ
Temporomandibular joint disorder involves chronic jaw pain resulting from one or more issues deteriorating jaw health, such as bruxism (teeth grinding), unconsciously clenching and tightening the jaw muscles or damage to the jaw joint because of disease or injury.
Symptoms of TMJ include grating, popping or clicking sounds coming from jaw joints when opening and closing the mouth, misaligned bite, pain when chewing, talking or moving the jaw, headaches and inability to fully open the mouth.
Myfascial pain syndrome can result from TMJ when damaged jaw muscles create a trigger point somewhere else on the body. Feeling excessive and severe pain in your jaw when another muscle group is used requires the attention of a professional Winnipeg dentist who can examine your jaw and determine whether temporomandibular joint disorder is causing myofacial pain syndrome.
Treating TMJ disorder in Winnipeg by visiting a Winnipeg dentist generally involves taking X-rays of your jaw, determining the cause of the TMJ and prescribing appropriate treatment methods to alleviate the pain and discomfort of both myofacial pain syndrome and TMJ.