For those with TMJ pain, this study certainly demonstrated excellent results for those receiving dry needling for the lateral pterygoid.  

In this study TMJ pain is classified as pain experienced in the ear, jaw or front/side head regions and/or difficulty with opening-closing movements of the mouth.

By needling the lateral pterygoid, (-one of the more challenging muscles to needle due to the anatomical bony structures surrounding it and its depth) this study demonstrated a 75% reduction in pain.  When re-tested again for pain 6 months following the treatment, the pain-relief had continued.  

In addition to the pain relief, the TMJ pain subjects had realized improved jaw motion- including 4.5cm of jaw opening on average according to the study.

These results suggest that dry needling should be considered for those with TMJ pain.  As mentioned earlier, I would highly recommend that if you opt for dry needling to the facial region, seek out an experienced and trained professional in this technique.  I might also point out that as I write this post, I am the only physical therapist certified in orofacial dry needling in Colorado!

Attached below is the full study-

I hear it all the time…   

"I'm always so tense."  

Or

"It's so hard for me to relax"

When you find it difficult to relax, it causes tension.  Constant tension requires energy to maintain.  When muscles get sore and tight, it's typically because they're not relaxed and they literally run out of energy!  Oxygen is required for energy.  So tense muscles require constant oxygen and energy.  What happens when you run out of oxygen, but want to hike a 14'er here in Colorado.  You're body literally, starved of oxygen, gives up!  That's what happens eventually to a tense individual- they hurt, sore and fatigued because they've asked their muscles to work all day.  Not good.


The solution?



Well, if you can't recognize the problem, you can't find the solution.   For this reason, "awareness" is the key.  First , you must be aware of your muscle tension as it occurs.  You must be able to feel the sensation of your muscles tensing.  Are your shoulder raising up when you're tense?  Probably!  But do you feel  it when they do?  

Here's a great way to improve your awareness of your body's muscle tension.  

It's called Autogenics.  

It involves repeatedly tensing and un-tensing/relaxing your muscles throughout your body, one muscle at a time.

It takes about 10 minutes/day to listen and follow the instructions.  And like anything else, if you're consistent with it for 3 weeks or so- you'll see progress in your ability to relax your body, decrease muscle soreness and reduce daily fatigue.   

The app in the App Store is called: Autogenic Training & Progressive Muscle Relaxation.


Give it a try!

If you want more want more great tips like this, find them here  : 
https://www.facebook.com/hansptgroup

 On my website, I'b spoke of how I treat chronic sinus infections and its strong relationship to candida and myofascial pain. 

Here is some more information on the connection between candida and myofascial pain that I've pulled from various sources:




Antibiotics Causing Sinus Infections

There are two types of bacteria: good bacteria, which lives in the intestines helping to digest food and strengthening the body's immune system, and bad bacteria, which causes illness and infection. Antibiotics can't tell the difference between the two, so taking them before a bacterial infection has been determined causes more harm than good. According to the Annapolis Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Research Center, short-term sinus infections can be turned into chronic infections by the use of antibiotics. Yeast infections, long associated with antibiotic use in women, can travel to the sinuses. According to Dr. Marjorie Greenfield of the Case School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, studies have shown that between 25 and 70 percent of female patients develop yeast infections following antibiotic treatments.


Sinus Yeast Infections

Candida travels in the body and lodges in the mucus membranes of the nose.
When good bacteria are killed off during the course of antibiotic treatment, bad bacteria can grow back stronger than before treatment began. The intestines become breeding grounds for candida yeast, which travels through the body's own mucus membrane system. According to Mark Andrew Hawyes, founder and CEO of Sinus-Wellness.com, "The Mayo Clinic has been conducting research on the origin of sinus yeast infections. The results they have found seem to suggest some type of fungus (yeast is, of course, one variety of fungus) may be the culprit."

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_6612708_can-antibiotics-cause-sinus-infections_.html

Chronic Sinusitis—Actually a Yeast Infection

Antibiotics turn short term sinus infections into chronic ones. To get to the root of sinus infections, and eliminate them, treat the underlying fungal/candida infections. In addition, as sinus infections likely exist in what are called "Biofilms," oral antibiotics don't work, but special sprays can be very effective.

Although we have discussed some unusual viral and bacterial infections associated with the immune dysfunction of CFS/FMS, these illnesses are also associated with more of the day-to-day variety of infections. These include chronic sinusitis. In today's article we will talk about how to treat chronic sinusitis—whether or not you have CFS/FMS.

We have known for years that chronic sinusitis responds poorly to antibiotics, and now experts are recommending against antibiotics even for acute sinusitis (see Antibiotics Useless for Sinus Infections). Nonetheless, this is all that many doctors give—in part because they are not aware of alternatives. Sinusitis can't be ignored though, and 2 new studies this week (see Sinus Surgery in Fibromyalgia (FMS) and Chronic Fatigue) showed that sinus surgery helps recovery from CFS. The good news is that we can get the same benefits without surgery—and the improvements will be more persistent!

As chronic sinusitis is predominantly caused by underlying yeast/fungal and biofilm infections, they are resistant to antibiotics by mouth, but can be effectively treated with antifungals and nose sprays.

How Do Fungal Infections Cause Sinusitis?

These infections cause a stuffy nose, eventually causing the nasal passages to swell shut. In the body, any time something gets blocked (e.g., an appendix, gallbladder, etc.), it results in a secondary bacterial infection—and the sinuses are no exception. When this happens, your nasal mucus turns yellow-green, and you go to the doctor in pain. She or he then gives you an antibiotic, which knocks out the bacterial infection and sometimes leaves you feeling better. Unfortunately, the antibiotic worsens the underlying yeast infection in your nose, causing more swelling and blockages and therefore more attacks of bacterial infections. This is why sinusitis in the U.S. usually becomes chronic. An interesting study reported in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings supports this thought.1 The report in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings noted that previously "fungus allergy was thought to be involved in less than 10 percent of cases... our studies indicate, in fact, fungus is likely the cause of nearly all of these problems and that it is not an allergic reaction but an immune reaction."1 In the study, researchers found that most people with chronic sinus infections had fungal growth in their sinuses. This research is interesting because more and more studies are showing that treating chronic sinusitis with antibiotics doesn't really do much and that shorter courses of treatment work just as well as the long courses. I find that conservative treatments (e.g., nasal rinses) are more effective than antibiotics for chronic sinusitis—but of course not enough by themselves.

In my experience, sinusitis (even chronic) usually respond dramatically to yeast treatment with Diflucan and a compounded nose spray that my patients love. It contains Bactroban and Xylitol, which kill the bacterial infections (and clinically appear to even fight biofilm infections), low dose cortisol to shrink the swelling and an antifungal. I recommend patients use 1 to 2 sprays in each nostril twice a day for 6-12 weeks while on the Diflucan. That is usually enough to knock out the sinusitis, although some patients like to stay on it long term or use it intermittently for recurrent infections. The spray is available by prescription and can be mailed from ITC Compounding Pharmacy (888-349-5453). Simply have your physician ask for the "Sinusitis Nose Spray." Another very helpful over the counter treatment for sinusitis is Argentyn 23 silver nose spray. In low doses, this mineral is an anti-infectious agent against both viral and bacterial infections, and liquid silver can even be used orally for many types of difficult-to-treat chronic infections. Silver also works well in combination with the prescription sinusitis nose spray, and I find the 2 of them to be a wonderful combination.

Besides the annoyance of your nose constantly running, sinusitis causes other problems. Work by Dr. Alexander Chester has shown that chronic nasal congestion can actually trigger chronic fatigue, and 2 new studies actually treat CFS/FMS with sinus surgery (seeSinus Surgery in Fibromyalgia (FMS) and Chronic Fatigue). In addition, having a chronic infection in your nose can also drag your energy down. A fringe benefit of treating yeast overgrowth with Diflucan is that, especially when combined with the nose spray above, it frequently eliminates chronic sinusitis! As one more fringe benefit, it also often eliminates spastic colon/irritable bowel syndrome as well.




In the next post, I will include the recent research that promotes dry needling for chronic sinusitis.