7 TMJ Exercises to Relieve Pain

You may now know it, but you are constantly using your temporomandibular joints or TMJ. These are the joints that connect your jawbone to your skull. They spring into action every time you chew, swallow, and talk.

If something goes wrong with your jaw muscles and joints, TMJ disorders happen. This is usually caused by inflammation like arthritis, overuse, and an injury to your jaw. It causes mild to devastating symptoms like headaches, pain in your face, jaw, ear, neck, and while chewing, locking of your jaw joint, and clicking or popping sounds in your jaw if you either close or open your mouth.

Good thing there are TMJ exercises to relieve pain. Here are seven of them:

Relaxation Exercises

TMJ is caused by tension-producing stress. Thus, relaxation exercises can help. You can try these two:

• Inhale slowly to let your stomach expand instead of your chest. Also, exhale for about as long as your inhalation. Repeat this 5-10 times.
• While lying or sitting comfortably, you have to tense and release tension from different muscles in your body. Start with your feet and work upwards to your head. This is a progressive exercise that will help you be more aware of the areas of tension. Also, this will equip you with the skills to release that tension.

Strengthening Exercises

These exercises, a dentist in Shreveport, Louisiana says, must be performed between TMJ flare-ups. When you feel intense pain, doing these exercises will make the pain even worse.

Try these two strengthening exercises:

• Open your mouth as wide as you can. Place your index finger between your lower lip and chin. As you push inward, try to close your mouth against the resistance.
• Place your thumb under your chin. Gently push your chin downward against it or open your mouth against the force from your thumb. Hold your mouth open for about 5-10 seconds.

Stretching Exercises

During a flare-up, stretching exercises should be done to relieve TMJ pain. They reduce joint and muscle tension, providing long-term relief.

Here are some stretching exercises you should try:

• Close your mouth. Glance to the right, using your eyes alone while facing straight ahead. Extend your lower jaw to your left and hold this position for 5-10 seconds. Repeat it on the opposite side.
• Place a pencil or any thin object in between your front teeth. Then, slowly slide your lower jaw forward so the object will rest in between your front teeth and back teeth. Hold this for at least 20 seconds. As this exercise becomes easier, start using wider objects.
• With your tongue in a neutral position, open your mouth as wide as you can. Hold this for 5-10 seconds before closing your mouth. After that, slightly open your mouth again – but this time, you must glide your lower jaw back and forth for at least five times.

If the pain is unresolved after doing these exercises, visit your dentist immediately. You may be prescribed pain relievers and muscle relaxers for pain relief. Also, you may be advised to make some lifestyle changes, including practicing good posture, avoiding biting your lower lip and nails, eating a soft diet, and limiting jaw movements like singing and yawning.

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