how long..

[Guest guest]

hi everyone i was just wondering how long it will take for me to be

able to open my mouth as wide as i was able to pre op? or will it

never open that wide again? im at one month post op and can still

only fit one finger. also i started playing soccer again and this

morning i woke up and my whole lower jaw and chin were hurting. im

pretty sure i didnt do anything really bad to it, but does anyone

know if its hurting just because of to much activity or what? well

thanks,

Kirsten

[Guest guest]

Hi Kirsten,

I think it's safe to say that the soccer activity has had something

to do with the sore lower jaw & chin (think of all the muscles at

work), but if it continues to be a problem, I'd call your surgeon and

ask about it. No question is too dumb for them, believe me. At 6

weeks I was completely exhausted by some major overtime I did at work

(desk job as a manager - I went back after 5 weeks off for

upper/lower/genio) and it knocked me back for a few days.

As for the jaw opening, proceed as directed by your surgeon. If

he/she says do exercises, do them. I was pretty much where you are

now. I didn't do anything other than gentle stretches opening my

mouth (when my rubber bands were off), not to the point of pain or

anything. After 3 months, my ortho said " time to do some resistance

exercises, use it or lose it " , so he gave me some specific ones to

do, ones where my jaw was actually closed, supported, and I tried to

open it in various ways. That helped, and I'm ok now. I'm not quite

where I was pre-op, but then, I don't know if my opening was abnormal

for me or not at that point. It's working well now. My surgeon did

caution me about unrestricted opening, like yawns, or opening too

wide, he says that's bad for you at any time. So ask your surgeon and

go carefully!

Happy healing,

> hi everyone i was just wondering how long it will take for me to be

> able to open my mouth as wide as i was able to pre op? or will it

> never open that wide again? im at one month post op and can still

> only fit one finger. also i started playing soccer again and this

> morning i woke up and my whole lower jaw and chin were hurting. im

> pretty sure i didnt do anything really bad to it, but does anyone

> know if its hurting just because of to much activity or what? well

> thanks,

> Kirsten

[Guest guest]

i was wired for six weeks and now i'm almost two months post-op. i

can now open almost 3 fingers width, but i definitely know i'm not

where i was pre-op. chewing still poses a bit of a problem mostly

b/c of the stiffness. its a gradual process i guess. i wasn't told

to do any specific jaw exercises... he said to just chew (as long as

its comfortable). sometimes after i eat, i get some aches and feel

like maybe i overdid it so i try to take it easy on the next meal.

still, i think my pain is more muscular than anything b/c the bones

are healed according to my doctor (and i've heard that bones heal

back stronger than they were in the first place).

my motto for this whole experience has been " everything in

moderation " . you don't want to over exert yourself, but i also don't

think you should baby yourself either.

> > hi everyone i was just wondering how long it will take for me to

be

> > able to open my mouth as wide as i was able to pre op? or will it

> > never open that wide again? im at one month post op and can still

> > only fit one finger. also i started playing soccer again and this

> > morning i woke up and my whole lower jaw and chin were hurting.

im

> > pretty sure i didnt do anything really bad to it, but does anyone

> > know if its hurting just because of to much activity or what?

well

> > thanks,

> > Kirsten