Northern California - TMJ from biking?!

:twitchy: This is a weird one...

I recently developed a LOT of soreness in my left jaw whenever I open my mouth wide. I looked it up and it seems I have a classic case of TMJ. So I start stretching my jaw 4 times a day to loosen the muscle up and allow me to cram food into my gaping maw once again.

In the meantime I've been trying to figure out what it is that set it off. Could I be grinding my teeth at night?! Possibly. This morning I was doing my normal 12 mile ride to work and noticed that when I'm sprinting or exerting myself a lot my jaw tenses up and I don't even notice. Everything fits. I only developed the TMJ once I started putting serious (for me) miles on my bike on a very regular basis. I'm riding about 34 miles a day with two rest days during the week and one long ride on the weekend. That's a helluva lot of jaw clenching!

Crap. :notamused:

:twitchy: This is a weird one...

I recently developed a LOT of soreness in my left jaw whenever I open my mouth wide. I looked it up and it seems I have a classic case of TMJ. So I start stretching my jaw 4 times a day to loosen the muscle up and allow me to cram food into my gaping maw once again.

In the meantime I've been trying to figure out what it is that set it off. Could I be grinding my teeth at night?! Possibly. This morning I was doing my normal 12 mile ride to work and noticed that when I'm sprinting or exerting myself a lot my jaw tenses up and I don't even notice. Everything fits. I only developed the TMJ once I started putting serious (for me) miles on my bike on a very regular basis. I'm riding about 34 miles a day with two rest days during the week and one long ride on the weekend. That's a helluva lot of jaw clenching!

Crap. :notamused:

I used to get soreness in my jaw from riding. I never did anything to address it, but it went away.

Probably once you're aware that you're doing it you can consciously ease up on the clenching every once in a while. Or chew gum, talk, whistle or something.

Probably once you're aware that you're doing it you can consciously ease up on the clenching every once in a while. Or chew gum, talk, whistle or something.

Yes, easiest way to break a subconscious bad habit like that is to train yourself to do some incompatible behavior at those times. :thumb:

Yes, easiest way to break a subconscious bad habit like that is to train yourself to do some incompatible behavior at those times. :thumb:

I recommend smoking, or carrying a Robin's egg between your teeth.

I've never had this problem and don't really get the mechanics. For, cycling makes me more relaxed, not more tense. My jaw is pretty loose when riding, but I remember when special orthodontic inserts were popular with olympians, maybe in the late 80s? It turned out a ton of the olympic cyclists had TMJ and rode better with the devices in their mouths that kept their jaws more relaxed. Fit or training must have improved to alleviate the problem, since I have read nothing of it since then.

I'm usually gasping for air when I ride, so no risk of TMJ there. I read that another common cause is clenching the jaw while working on the computer. I didn't realize I was doing that until I read that article and paid attention.