|
Health
TMJ By Emily Winnerson My jaw first started to hurt about 5 years ago, when I was 11 years old. People around me were able to hear it and would stare at me or get weirded out. It’s actually funny because my friends would say I reminded them of a tv show character. That whenever he would laugh his jaw would dislocate. When the clicking and pain first started to happen, my dentist at the time had passed it off as I was eating too many hard things and that it wasn’t anything serious. The pain got so bad that I decided to switch my dentist and went somewhere new and expressed my situation and they told me I have TMJ. What is TMJ you may ask? Well TMJ disorder is when the temporomandibular joint dislocates from the skull. It’s a sliding hinge that connects the jawbone to the skull. Each person has one on each side of their face. If you’re ever wondering where the hinge is, it’s right next to the opening of the ear. This is where TMJ disorder happens. TMJ happens to more than 3 million people per year. People can easily tell if they have TMJ, but it’s always safer to go to a dentist and go through the process of knowing how much it has affected your daily life. How can someone get TMJ? Well for starters it’s genetic, but not all cases are from genetics. Some can be caused by injuries or from the skull not being fully formed. There are ways to get relief from the pain, but not forever. Two years ago my dentist recommended a jaw specialist, which did take a minute to get an appointment to see what was going on. At that appointment the specialist confirmed that it was TMJ. They had me try physical therapy and medication which sadly didn’t work, so I had to get X-rays and an MRI to see what kind of surgery I had to get. I later found out that I needed an Arthroscopic TMJ surgery, which is also the lowest level of TMJ surgery to get. Arthroscopic TMJ surgery is when a surgeon makes two very small incisions right above the earlobe. They put a small camera into one of two incisions, and in the other they cleaned body tissue out of the jaw line and the TMJ area. This procedure was done at Baystate Hospital and it took about 45 minutes to an hour to get the tissue out. My doctor had told me after the surgery that it took a little long because I had a bunch of body tissue and body fat in my jaw. The pandemic happened which delayed me from getting it done and to get other testing done. I just recently got those tests done and was able to successfully get surgery in the middle of October of 2020. But I had to get surgery again from a wisdom tooth infection, in November I was still in the healing process of not being able to eat big or hard solids. Do you think you might have TMJ? Some symptoms are pain in one or both sides of the jaw or cheek area. Pain levels can be from a four to a ten. Also, clicking at where the hinge area is and discomfort while chewing, yawning, and laughing. Some other symptoms are, headaches and tooth pain which can get easily mistaken and passed off as a toothache. I personally would go on a soft food diet if the pain is extreme and if the pain stops a person from finishing their daily life tasks. What are some reliefs for TMJ? Well TMJ is not curable. Sadly all you can get is relief for pain. With having TMJ people can get different levels of TMJ within a lifespan. Also, when people don’t get the correct treatment, TMJ can get worse in time. Some reliefs are medications, physical therapy for the face and surgery. There are different kinds of surgeries, mainly depending on how bad it is from visuals of X-RAYs, MRIs and a jaw specialist perspective as well. When someone doesn’t get treatment for TMJ, a person's jawbone and temporomandibular joint can start to deteriorate over time from tissue building up. Which can cause the joint bone to flatten, Which you can see in the “Diseased Jaw Joint” picture. Having a flattened hinge can become very painful and hard to move your face. Not being able to move your face will make life very difficult. |
The Injured Athlete
by Phoebe Harrison
I am an athlete. I love swimming, dancing, skiing, ice-skating, diving and running cross-country. In one of my cross-country meets, I had the unfortunate experience of breaking my foot. Near the end of my race I stepped on a root, my foot slipped and I heard a loud snap. After four hours in the emergency room I returned home with crutches, a boot and a Jones fracture, which is a break between the base and middle part of the fifth metatarsal of the foot.
At first it seemed like I might be able to handle it because I had never had crutches before and swinging through them was fun. Three weeks later, I was not handling the reality of the injury at all. It was so difficult to get around. I hate asking for help when I need things so the loss of my independence made me very uncomfortable. Even taking a shower was a struggle. The hardest thing was watching everyone at meets and in gym class do things I love. I still went to cross-country meets to support my team but just sat there wanting to participate. One thing that makes it easier is that I’m not the only injured athlete. There are several kids in boots around school. Knee injuries, broken noses and many ankle injuries have worked their way into the sports seasons.
I know injuries are part of being an athlete but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional anguish that would add to the physical pain. Professional athletes must really struggle with this; knowing they have worked their whole lives to make it to the professional level and having to just sit on the sidelines watching their teammates fight to win. It’s an important life lesson for me and one I hope I don’t have to handle again any time soon!
At first it seemed like I might be able to handle it because I had never had crutches before and swinging through them was fun. Three weeks later, I was not handling the reality of the injury at all. It was so difficult to get around. I hate asking for help when I need things so the loss of my independence made me very uncomfortable. Even taking a shower was a struggle. The hardest thing was watching everyone at meets and in gym class do things I love. I still went to cross-country meets to support my team but just sat there wanting to participate. One thing that makes it easier is that I’m not the only injured athlete. There are several kids in boots around school. Knee injuries, broken noses and many ankle injuries have worked their way into the sports seasons.
I know injuries are part of being an athlete but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional anguish that would add to the physical pain. Professional athletes must really struggle with this; knowing they have worked their whole lives to make it to the professional level and having to just sit on the sidelines watching their teammates fight to win. It’s an important life lesson for me and one I hope I don’t have to handle again any time soon!
|
President Trump is being impeached, so What Does That Mean? A simple and easy to understand explanation? By Miles Ellsworth Why is president Trump being Impeached? On July 25, 2019, President Donald Trump was on a phone call with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. On the phone call, president Trump suggested that for Ukraine to get military funding that was appropriated by Congress, President Zelensky must do a favor for President Trump. Trump wanted Zelensky to open up an investigation into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in regards to former dealings with a Ukrainian company under Barack Obama’s presidency. This was controversial because Joe Biden is currently running for the democratic nomination, and potentially could be running against Trump in a general election this November. Democrats in Congress claim that this was an attempt to gain political dirt on his potential opponent's son in exchange for military aide for Ukraine. On the other hand, Republicans claim that Trump’s request for an investigation was fueled by legitimate concerns of corruption in Ukraine. After this story was brought to Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives by an anonymous whistleblower, an impeachment inquiry was set up in the House to determine if Trump’s actions constituted impeachment. After an impeachment investigation, in December, Congress approved two articles of impeachment. One of the articles was for abuse of power, the other was for obstruction of Congress.How Does Impeachment Work? President Trump is the third president in United States history to be impeached. According to the Constitution, a president can be impeached for bribery, treason, and other high crimes or misdemeanors. However, just because a president is impeached, that does not mean that they are removed from office. After the House of Representatives impeaches a president, the articles are sent to the U.S. Senate, where the president is tried. For a president to be removed, he or she must be convicted by a two-thirds majority. What is Next? |
Now that Donald Trump has been impeached, the articles will be sent to the senate. However, a debate is currently unfolding between Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Republican senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. McConnell, in the senate, which is controlled by Republicans, wanst a speedy and quick trial. However, Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, wants to make sure that the trial in the senate is fair. Once Trump is tried in the senate, it is unlikely that he will be convicted, even if all the Democrats in the Senate vote to convict Trump, twenty Republicans would also have to join the Democrats, in order to remove Trump from office. Although this unlikely, if 2016 taught America anything, it is that in the modern world of politics, anything can happen. |
