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Tuesday, November, 24, 2009
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TMJ problems after camping

Bekah
Bekah
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My name is Bekah and I am 25. I live in the province of Ontario...

Bekah

Monday, June 02, 2008
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Today my jaw joints have been aching like crazy and I found a little hard lump about the size of a pea just at the top of the jaw beside my right ear. When I open my mouth the lump moves inward and I cannot feel it anymore. Plus the area directly infront of my ears (infront of the traigus) are very sore to the touch. The muscle down the right side of my neck (from the base of my ear to colar bone) is very sore as well and seems swollen.

I returned home Sunday evening after camping in Algonquin Park for two nights. We had a yurt (a permanent tent structure) that had bunk beds for sleeping. These bunks consisted of futon mattresses on an incredibly uncomfortable metal bar frame. Yeesh!!!
I'm quite sure the sleeping conditions, on and off rain and lots of physical activity (hiking, etc) is the reason for my pain. Normally I fair very well when camping but this trip sure gave my body a beating.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had any experience with the little lump by their jaw joint before? It reminds me a lot of the nodule I had at the base of my ring finger. It formed after I sprained my wrist two summers ago and took a year to go away. Hopefully this will not be the case for my jaw!  If anyone has some ideas on how to help the pain I would love to hear them. Right now I'm doing my standard ice, moist heat, soft diet, Advil and trying to keep talking to a minimum. It is painful to open my mouth very wide and my right joint is clicking. I haven't had that problem in forever! Surprised Of course it doesn't help that the forecast is showing thunderstorms for tonight and heavy rain for tomorrow. Yuck! It's an odd feeling having my TMJ acting up and hurting more than my FM. Personally, I'd prefer it the other way around. Haha.

Pictures from our trip are here for your viewing pleasure
http://luxuria.smugmug.com/gallery/5081547_9a5yc#306066281_cupNc

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This video explains where back pain stems from by taking you through the anatomy of the back. 

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