JAW PAIN: Bruxism and TMJD
Jaw Pain: You know how at the end of a long, stressful day, your jaw starts to ache, your neck gets tight, and you feel a low grade headache starting to creep its way up the sides of your head to your temples?
Yep, me too. I’ve suffered from jaw issues for as long as I can remember. I was a teenager with braces and those damn elastics in my mouth. That alone caused so much tension. Fast forward to now, and if I’m stressed, holding poor posture, or talking or chewing too much, my jaw barely opens and aches all day long. This leads to headaches. Grinding my teeth. More poor posture. And an overall miserable way of being.
This is the life of someone with Bruxism and/or TMJ. Can you relate?
The Masseter
Some of the most powerful muscles in your body are your masseter muscles. These are primarily responsible for mastication, or chewing. This facilitates the raising movements of the jaw.
! Fun fact, the masseter muscle is only found in mammals, and is especially powerful in herbivores for chewing plant matter!
Now two main conditions associated with the masseter muscle are:
– Bruxism: the unconscious clenching or grinding of your teeth
– TMJ: dysfunction of the muscles of mastication and the temporomandibular joints, including limited jaw movement, clicking, and pain
...a cycle of anxiety - pain - tension...
Both are affected by emotional stress. These conditions together can have you stuck in a cycle of “anxiety-pain-tension”.
The emotional stress (anxiety, depression, anger) can cause teeth grinding and tight facial muscles. This results in muscle pain and headaches. The presence of this pain can lead to more muscular spasms and restricted blood flow.
The pain discourages the use of the jaw muscles, leading to reduced muscle flexibility, tone, strength and endurance. You might feel this as a limited range when opening your mouth, or a feeling that your teeth are not fitting properly.
So, what can we do? For many of us, Bruxism and TMJ can be managed through lifestyle changes, exercises, and complimentary therapies.
This has helped my jaw pain:
Focusing directly on the jaw area, some helpful exercises are:
– changing the resting position of your tongue. When your tongue rests on the roof of your mouth, it takes pressure off the jaw. It is also MUCH harder to clench or grind your teeth with your jaw in this resting position. I came across this exercise as a practice called “mewing”. It is primarily aimed at reshaping the face, but this simple exercise has done so much to resolve my jaw pain. A thorough explanation of this can be found HERE.
– Strengthening the muscles at the back of your neck and improving posture. When the head is in a forward position, as often happens when staring at a screen or desk, this puts more strain on the jaw muscles. A simple exercise (linked HERE) can help improve posture and reduce jaw tension.
* Finding these exercises has made a huge difference to me.
– Facial Massage to release muscle tension. As shown in the diagram above, use firm massage in small circular movements. This self-massage technique helps release muscle tension, increase circulation, and improve jaw opening range. Apply a few drops of facial oil so you’re not pulling on your skin.
Add in complimentary health care
Self Care through the above steps is so important! However, I wouldn’t have the improvements I do without the brilliant group of complimentary therapists that I visit. What works for you may be more individual, but this is what works for me.
1. Bergman Method Facial Reflexology – so many benefits here! This deeply relaxing treatment helps relieve the stress and anxiety that worsens TMJ/Bruxism. In addition to reducing stress, this directly works on the facial muscles to release tension and increase circulation. Some practitioners even include facial cupping to supercharge the treatment.
2. Osteopathy – this gentle but powerful therapy helps adjust the alignment of the jaw and whole body to create ease of movement, increased circulation, and relief of pain.
3. Deep Tissue Massage – Ouch! But it works. A fantastic massage therapist can help release built-up tension and restore muscle flexibility.
Final Notes
This is my individual journey with jaw pain and what helps me. Always take your medical practitioners advice first and foremost. Also, if you’re local to the Winnipeg area, I’m pleased to recommend some wonderful practitioners to you. Just contact me via email at christine@willowtherapies.ca.
I hope you’ve found this helpful today. Please leave a comment. What do you think? Do you do any of the above? Did you find this helpful?
Christine McInnis is a Reflexology Therapist with a specialty in Facial Reflexology focusing on migraine relief and jaw pain. She also offers reproductive health and fertility support, and Zone Face Lift sessions. Located in Headingley, only 5 minutes from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Christine McInnis, RCRT MARR
Willow Therapies
christine@willowtherapies.ca