My son has Friedrichs ataxia and I was wondering if TMJ is linked to this also what can be done for TMJ

Anon,

I'm glad there was no fall involved. But I'm sure that figuring out the next steps are difficult for all involved. What treatment has your dentist recommended? Medicine, exercises, supplements?

Here's a page of treatment suggestions for temporomandibular disorders that may help:

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/temporomandibular-disorders?page=2

And this page also had some holistic suggestions:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Stress-Management-3227/TMJ-Stress.htm

Does your dentist specialize in TMJ? Some do. Have you asked your son's ataxia doctor about the TMJ?

Hi, Anon,

Welcome to EmpowHer, and thank you so much for your question.

I was not able to find any link between Friedreich's Ataxia and TMJ, but I can understand why you would ask the question, since both involve movement of areas of the body.

But as I understand them, Friedreich's Ataxia is a disease that causes progressive damage to the nerve system, while TMJ is located solely in the joint that connects our upper jaw with our lower jaw. Friedreich's Ataxia is an inherited condition; doctors are not sure of all the reasons that TMJ happens, but the TMJ.org page says it can be caused by:
--injuries to the jaw area
--various forms of arthritis
--dental procedures
--genetic predisposition
--hormonal influence
--low-level infections
--auto-immune diseases
--stretching of the jaw as occurs with inserting a breathing tube before surgery
--clenching or grinding of the teeth.

We have an EmpowHer conditions page on Friedrich's Ataxia:

https://www.empowher.com/friedreichs-ataxia/content/friedreichs-ataxia-progressive-neurological-disorder

How old is your son? How long ago was the TMJ diagnosed? Did he have a fall or any other of the above possible causes?

Here's the page where I got my Friedreich's Ataxia information:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/friedreichs_ataxia/friedreichs_ataxia.htm

And here's the TMJ.org site:

http://www.tmjassociation.org/site/

With a page on the limited treatment possibilities:

http://tmjassociation.org/site/content/tmjd-treatments

What are your son's doctors recommending? Is he in chronic pain, and is that being treated?