2002-07-17

Nearly a week since my self-diagnosis of Temporomandibular joint disease a painful condition affecting the area where the lower jaw connects to the sides of the skull which impairs function and sensation in the face and jaw, which may spread to the ears, neck, and shoulders
and the pain facial pain; jaw joint pain; often in combination with neck, shoulder, back pain and/or headaches
comes and goes, still peaking at sundown, when it's joined by the popping popping, grating or clicking sounds with movement of the jaw joint.
Playing computer mah-johng from the Rodin's Thinker pose; (Medical research has not yet defined all the causes of TMJ.)
not reining in my jaw when it twists to follow my scampering thoughts—not training it to be still while I rummage and fume— oral habits
idiosyncrasies? Of course not—but are causes same or similar so common? More than 10 million people in the United States.
So unusually common? The majority, as high as 90 percent, of TMJ patients are women in their childbearing years.
My conviction— the jaw locking open or closed
Pure sentiment! ("a thought influenced by or proceeding from feeling or emotion")
Reasoned dreads, that is, and wishful expectations, surplus compassionating, worried plans—sentiment, swelling the walls of its temporomandibular refuge—underneath the jaw, where the baby's head would be. Because TMJ problems are poorly understood, patients' symptoms are often attributed to psychosomatic factors.
An evolutionary cul-de-sac where cooing noises go to huddle unexpressed. At present, there are more than 50 treatments in use ranging from very conservative, reversible therapies to more aggressive, invasive approaches. None of the surgical treatments for severe cases have been proven effective in long-term controlled clinical trials.

Quotations from The TMJ Association, Ltd. (2002)