Posted by Wait! Wait! Wait! on October 16, 2001 at 13:06:20:
In Reply to: Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) posted by Pete on October 16, 2001 at 07:30:10:
AAACK! Don't do surgery until you have investigated ALL other options. You could kill your tuba career in one swoop of the knife.
At the International Horn Society conference in Kalamazoo last summer, I attended a seminar about playing injuries, and TMJ was addressed. The lady presenting was an _expert_ and did an amazing demonstration. The demonstration was not planned, but there was someone in the audience who had a severe TMJ problem. In front of everyone, the presenter had this young woman open and shut her jaw while she pressed on it in a certain way, and the clicking and pain went away _immediately_. If I remember correctly, the young woman was unconciously holding her jaw in its "outmost" position, causing it to be out of line. The presenter pushed in on it as the young woman closed her jaw from being wide open, a few times, and taught her on the spot how to re-align it herself. Problem solved. No dental nothing, no surgery, needed. Likely a chiropractor experienced in TMJ would have a similar approach.
If you contact the IHS, you can probably find out who this presenter was, and get some information that will make it unnecessary for you to submit to a surgeon.
Mary Ann