I woke up this morning and my Jaw's stuck! I can't open it, so I can't eat, talk (v well) or play any instrument. I forced it open twice but it really hurt, made a huge noise, and got stuck as soon as I shut it again! I've had it before in my right side, and it usually opens by now, but this is the first time I've had it on my left.

What do I do?!

I've had that I just waited and it went back into place, I'm not really sure waht to sugges.

My friend had that a few years ago. I think it's caused by your bite being off centre or something . I'm sure that one of the doctors on here will correct me!

aww Elmo! Poor you! If it doesnt go away you could get it checked out maybe? Does it happen a lot? *hugs*

It used to happen all the time, but it's never lasted this long before. It usually opens once I've been in the shower, and today it hasn;t!

ok I spoke to the doctor who told me to take ibuprufen with meals, but there's just one flaw with his plan..... I can't eat!

Elmo,

Go back to the doctor or to the emergency department of the hospital. You need to get this sorted ASAP.

Hello again

Thanks for your sensible advice (unlike my friend who laughed!). It still hurts, but I can eat now and sort of open it. Just means I can't play clarinet Although do you think it could be something to do with my clarinet as to why it got stuck? It's normally quite stiff, but never got that stcuk!

It could be any sort of a cause, perhaps the way your head was placed on the pillow while you slept, or have you bumped yourself or anything?

Many years ago, someone I was teaching to swim caught me a glancing blow across the jaw and displaced it. It hurt like nobody's business and took quite a while to settle back, mucking up things like eating in the mean time.

I didn't have enough sense to go and get help, I just kept taking painkillers until it eased up - don't make the mistake I did.

I get this every so often (usually when stressed) and the dentist pinpointed it down to molars on the affected side not meeting correctly.

His remedy was to make me a thin plastic (moulded to my teeth) mouthguard. This had the added benefit of reducing headaches which he thought could be from clenching my teeth at night. Apparently the forces a person can exert on their teeth at night whilst asleep (grinding or clenching) are at least 3 times what one would stop at if awake.

Once it's better, you could try one of those "mould yourself" mouthguards you can get in sportshops eg JJB Sports for about £6. You place them in boiled and still-hot water to soften them, then place in the mouth to mould to your teeth pattern and keep them there until they re-solidify enough to keep the shape.

Could be worth a try!

just reminded me of what one of my music teachers told us - her son had been taught by a teacher who told him to bite harder or something to get the top notes (can't remember exactly - basically he was taught with the wrong technique) then his jaw got stuck, kinda like yours by the sounds of it - they tried everything and then he swapped clarinet teachers, the new one told him he was playing all wrong, taught him the correct technique and the problem went away don't know if that random little story is of any use - there could be loads of reasons why it's locked - but just when you said clarinet it reminded me.
hope you're feeling better soon!
hoxie
x

I wonder if osteopathy or chiropractic could help?

On a similar note, when this happens to me, I can relax it out, sort of. If you lie down flat, close your mouth (well, I'll take that for granted in your case!) and put the underside of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, kina like you're trying to taste the back of your own tongue; anyway, it should create a vacuum. Breathe in really slowly, and as you breathe in, relax your jaw. When your jaw isn't locked, it should drop down slightly, but since it is, just imagine it. When you breathe out, relax your jaw up, if that makes sense. While doing this, try imagining a balloon inflating on the inbreath and deflating on the outbreath inside your skull where the brain should be. Also, curl your feet upwards on the inbreath and relax them back to normal on the outbreath.
This sounds like a load of rubbish, but doing this for a year (under supervision and instruction, I hasten to add!) completely got rid of my need for braces by fixing my underbite; but instead of reducing the underbite, it expanded the front of my face, so my top jaw and nose area have grown hugely. At any rate, the whole process is really relaxing, I can reduce my heartbeat to about 45 bpm. It relaxes muscles and tension all over the body, so it just might work. If the instructions make sense, that is!!

i nearly had that once - if thats possible

Oh I really sympathise Elmo - I got this 1 week before a clarinet exam. As if I wasn't already panicking enough! I went to the doctor who was completely useless and basically I just had to sit it out and wait for it to go away. Although my jaw has never been the same since and I get really worried that it could happen again. Anyway, I hope it clears up soon and best of luck!

Hannah

Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll ask my teacher to look at it (not my jaw, the way I play) coz I think it's got something to do with that, since I've done 1 hour/ 1 and a hlaf hours every day for 2 weeks compared with the 5 I do per week. My Dad think's it'scoz I'm stressed, coz apparently it used to get stuck when I was stressed, but I don't think I'm strssed lol

Thanks anyway!