4 TMJ Exercises to Help Relieve Jaw Pain
How Orthodontics Can Help Prevent TMJ Pain From Happening
Most of us don’t think too much about our face and jaw muscles, but they’re a critical part of our everyday lives. The temporomandibular joint (or TMJ) in particular facilitates many of our daily functions, like how we speak, chew, breathe and swallow. Together with the other parts of our facial anatomy, the TMJ also allows us to make a variety of facial expressions. But if your upper and lower jaw don’t line up properly, your bite is off, or if you chronically grind your teeth, it can lead to TMJ disorder. Characterized by jaw pain, chronic headaches, popping or clicking noises in the joint, ear stuffiness, and pain with chewing, TMJ disorder can interfere with how we perform everyday activities.
At Foundations Orthodontics, we’re experts in treating TMJ disorders. To us, TMJ symptoms are an indicator that something is unbalanced in the chewing system. It’s important to understand what’s causing this imbalance so we can fix the root cause — not just the symptom — to get you feeling like yourself again. If you’re dealing with mild discomfort, you may be able to relieve your pain at home with TMJ pain relief exercises until you can seek out proper treatment. To address the underlying cause of your jaw pain, our TMJ orthodontist in Denver, Granby and Winter Park can help you find relief. In this post, we’ll share:
What TMJ disorder is
What causes TMJ pain
How to relieve jaw pain at home
Treatment options for TMJ disorders
What is TMJ Disorder?
We all have a temporomandibular joint on either side of the face. These complex facial joints connect the jawbone to the skull and are capable of both sliding and hinge motions. The TMJ works together with the jawbones, facial and neck muscles, tendons, and teeth. This larger system allows us to do a number of different things, such as chew, open and close the mouth, speak, breathe, swallow, suck, and more. While patients sometimes call problems in the joint and surrounding structures TMJ, TMJ is an acronym for the joint itself. TMJ issues are technically referred to as a temporomandibular disorder (TMD), temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD), or temporomandibular dysfunction.
TMJ disorder may be the result of a number of things. Firstly, if you have a misaligned bite, it can cause you to shift your jaw as you bite down. These shifts can lead to “micro traumas” of the jaw joint which ultimately causes pain. Other causes of TMJ may include arthritis in the joint, injury or trauma, genetics, or habits such as teeth grinding and clenching. Also known as bruxism, teeth grinding does not always lead to TMJ pain. Bruxism also manifests differently for men and women: men tend to grind their teeth while women often experience damage to their jaw joints due to certain hormones.
How to Relieve TMJ Pain At Home
Fortunately, if you’re proactive about your TMJ pain, you can find relief before you develop chronic pain. First, find a comfortable place to sit and relax. Then try these exercises for TMJ pain relief:
1.Relaxed jaw exercise: Place your tongue gently behind your upper front teeth on the top of your mouth. Relax your jaw muscles and let your teeth come apart.
2. Goldfish exercise: Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and press one finger to the spot right in front of your ear (this is where your TMJ is located). With your other hand, put your pointer finger on your chin. Then slowly open your jaw halfway, then close. You should feel some resistance but not pain. Perform the exercise six times to make one set and aim for six sets a day. To progress this exercise, try opening your mouth all the way and then closing.
3. Chin tucks: Roll your shoulders back and keep your spine straight. Then tuck your chin towards your chest and hold for three seconds. Repeat 10 times.
4. Rocabado 6x6 exercises: This series of six exercises is one of the most well-known physical therapies for TMJ pain. You’ll want to complete six rounds of the series daily. Here’s how to do it:
Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and apply gentle pressure to the palate.
Slowly open and close the jaw while continuing to press the tip of the tongue on the palate.
Put two fingers on your chin. Keep opening and closing your jaw while pressing the tongue on the palate.
Next, lift and lower your chin as if nodding the head.
Then correct your posture by squeezing your shoulder blades together and lifting your ribs and chest upward.
Finally, bring your chin toward your chest and lift it up again.
Treatment Options for TMJ Disorders
Dr. Renee Moran is a TMJ Expert in Denver, CO who can help with jaw pain relief.
What if at-home exercises for TMJ pain isn’t giving you the relief you need? Our Denver TMJ expert, Dr. Renee Moran, can help. Not only is she a board-certified orthodontist and bite correction specialist — she also completed extensive post-graduate training in the diagnosis and treatment of the painful and functional problems associated with TMD. While Dr. Moran and our team have a reputation for treating complex, TMJ-related cases in adults and teenagers, our passion is prevention. Our goal for orthodontic treatment is always to place the teeth in harmony with the TMJs to hopefully avoid problems in the future.
At Foundations Orthodontics, we take a conservative approach to treating TMJ dysfunction. While there are several different types of TMJ surgery, these should always be reserved as a last resort. Home remedies for TMJ pain like applying hot or cold packs to the jaw, eating soft foods, facial massage, stress reduction techniques, and taking over-the-counter pain relievers are a great way to bridge the gap between experiencing symptoms and getting treatment.
If you find your way into our office, Dr. Moran will evaluate your entire craniofacial structure using our cutting-edge, in-house diagnostic tools, such as our CBCT x-ray and 3D Digital Bite Analysis. Depending on your individual case and the reasons for your TMJ dysfunction, clear, ceramic braces, metal braces, 3M Clarity Aligners, Invisalign, or Invisalign Teen may be effective in aligning the teeth and jaw, and creating harmony between the teeth and jaw joints to eliminate TMD. In other cases, TMJ splint therapy could be needed prior to comprehensive orthodontic treatment to get the best results.
Ready to get relief from your TMJ pain? Contact Foundations Orthodontics today to book a consultation with Dr. Moran.