Hi everyone:

I just want to share what worked for me. I recently came upon an article on the internet published by the San Mateo County Times, June 24 (see below). This article featured a new product called TheraFlex TMJ. The article made some claims about how this product could reduce TMJ pain by 60%. Moreover, the article stated that TheraFlex TMJ was clinically studied by Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. I then located an abstract of the study at Cranio: The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice (search Cranio). According to the abstract, TheraFlex's pain relief is so effective that it lasts five days after the last application. I couldn't believe that so I called Tufts. They told me that what I read was correct and that they were giving TheraFlex to their patients at their orofacial pain center.

Still in disbelief I contacted the manufacturers and told them how I couldn't believe the results of the study. I told them that my disbelief was rooted in having been railroaded by the medical industry. I've had more unnecessary procedures for my tmj than I can list and I frankly couldn't believe that for $25.00 and change a large portion of my tmj woes would be alleviated. I've been to the whizard of TMJ pain, sat in his office and paid his heavenly bills. I just didn't arrive to this tmj scene.

They patiently listened and told me they had invested every penny they had into their TheraFlex and my $25.00 wasn't even a drop of water on a hot pan. My sale wouldn't bring them anywhere near the black. So they told me to keep my money. Instead they would send me samples in exchange for two $.37 stamps.

I tried the TheraFlex and was very surprised. First, you only need a little bit--about a dime size. It is greaseless and absorbs fast. The pain relief is real. It is not magic bullet but it is something I use twice a day--a treatment.

I recommend anyone with tmj pain to e-mail them for their free samples. Their e-mail address is Nabobrx@sbcglobal.net. The article from the Times is below. The abstract is at the Cranio site.

If anyone gets and trys their samples, please let me know what you think.



















San Mateo County Times


Pain cream connects with the jaw bone
San Mateo company brings relief to jaw pain sufferers
By Laura Cunningham
STAFF WRITER


Thursday, June 24, 2004 - SAN MATEO -- More than 10 million Americans suffer from a serious condition that limits speech, generates lower jaw and neck pain and often requires surgery.

Now, however, a San Mateo-based company named NaBob/Rx has developed Theraflex-TMJ, an herbal-based topical cream that's used to ease muscle pain in the joint connecting the lower jaw and skull, specifically the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

The compound is rubbed on the skin like any other lotion. It absorbs quickly and has a potent wintergreen aroma.

Though it is not a cure-all, a recent Tufts University study showed that patients who used Theraflex-TMJ experienced 60 percent less pain after two weeks. The findings were published in the Journal of Craniomandibular Practice.

"We found it was effective in reducing TMJ-related pain," said Dr. Noshir R. Mehta, who worked on the study. Mehta is a professor, chairman of general dentistry and director of the Craniofacial Pain Center at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in the Boston area.

"We're proud of the study," said Dr. Robert Gross, one of the product's three co-founders, who lives in San Mateo.

"We know it works. If we can help 10 million people, we want to do it," added Gross, a longtime researcher who has studied alternative medicine in this country and abroad.

But the little company faces some big hurdles trying to get the product to the masses.

John Reid, a partner at NaBob/Rx, said the process of developing a new product and getting it out there is lengthy -- and expensive. The Tufts study alone cost $50,000.

"We've tried to get this into stores. We've given Walgreens copies of the study's abstract, but when you look at retail, you're looking at shelf space -- and you actually have to buy shelf space," Reid said. "You can see why every time we find a dime on the ground, we feel like we've won the lottery."

Theraflex-TMJ is not a prescription medicine and doesn't need approval from the Food and Drug Administration; it would be sold over the counter if it ever made into drug stores. The company doesn't know when that might happen. For now, the product is being sold over the company's Web site for $24.95.

Commonly, people with TMJ disorder experience symptoms such as speech complications, limited facial mobility, lock jaw, pain, and swelling in the face and neck.

Because 90 percent of people seeking treatment for TMJ disorders are women of child-bearing age, 47 of the 52 subjects who participated in the Tufts study were female.

"You can use a little bit and it goes a long way," said M.J. Sands, a biofeedback technician from Boston who specializes in home pain management and muscle testing of the face and neck at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Sands uses the product herself and has recommended that doctors administer it to their patients.

"I use a little bit on my shoulders, neck and back," said Sands. "We've used it for Arthritis in the fingers and on the jaw joint for patients. It gets tremendous results." She said the relief is immediate.

Dr. Silvia Lobo, assistant professor at the Craniofacial Pain Center at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, also worked on the study. In terms of treating TMJ disorders with herbal components, Lobo said, Theraflex-TMJ "is the first of its kind."

TMJ disorders can be so serious, an association was formed to help patients cope with the trauma.

"We don't understand all of the ramifications of TMJ," said Terrie Cowley, president and co-founder of the TMJ Association, a nonprofit based in Milwaukee, Wis.

She said she had not heard of Theraflex-TMJ.

"If you think a miracle cream is going to help our patients," Cowley said, "I would like to see it."

For more information about Theraflex-TMJ contact NaBob/Rx at (888) 367-2879 or visit http://www.nabobrx.com/

Staff writer Laura Cunningham can be reached at (650) 348-4329 or at lcunningham@sanmateocountytimes.com .