hurting jaw

[the archer]

As the title says my jaw hurts. I play for a highschool soccer team. Today during the game a shorter kid went to head the ball, but i got there first. His head went straight up into my jaw. I immediatly felt pain in the right side where the lower jaw meets the upper jaw. This area is infront of the ear. Points is i'm not sure if i injured more than just a bruise or something. I have no trouble breathing and none of my teeth are loose. What do you think could be wrong and should i go to the docters?

[Heidi]

Hi

The area you describe is called the temporomandibular joint (tmj). It is quite easily injured and can be dislocated, or the cartilage in the joint injured.
If it only happened today, then rest and ice it. If there is no improvement in the next 2 days, or if you can't open your mouth fully, then yes, go to your Doctor.