5 TMJ Exercises to Get Relief from Jaw Pain
Dr. B. Kanagasabapathy
[M.D.S. (Ortho), Fellow ICOI]
The Temporomandibular Joints (TMJ) are 2 joints that connect your lower jaw bone to the skull. This joint is responsible for jaw movements such as opening & closing your mouth. While placing a finger on your chin and opening your mouth, you can sense the joint’s activity. Various conditions affect the bone, joints, ligaments, and muscles around the jaw and in turn, put the TMJ also under stress. Such TMJ disorder causes pain in your jaw and regions around the ears.
Besides pain, TMJ dysfunction causes a click or popping sensation while opening & closing your mouth.
Along with in-office dental treatments, various relaxing techniques and exercises are here to get relief from TMJ pain. In this post, we have exhibited the important TMJ exercises to ease jaw pain. Keep reading to explore them.
1) Resisted mouth opening and closing
This TMJ strengthening exercise involves applying gentle pressure to the chin while opening and closing your mouth.
- Place your thumb finger under the chin. Push your chin gently from below and open your mouth.
- Now keep the index finger between the mouth ridge and chin. Use the fingers to squeeze the chin and close your mouth.
- Hold each position for about 3 to 6 seconds.
2) Gold Fish Exercise
The Gold fish exercise is powerful to get rid of the pain that occurred with jaw bone misalignment. Follow these steps to do the exercise:
- Press your tongue against the mouth palate (roof of your mouth).
- Place your left index finger on the left TMJ and another index finger on the chin of the same side.
- Now open your mouth slightly whilst keeping the tongue and fingers in the same position. Repeat this action 6 times and do the same for your right TMJ.
3) Side-to-Side Jaw movement
This activity requires an object and involves moving the jaw from side to side.
- Place the thin object in your mouth. Hold it with your upper and lower front teeth.
- Now move the jaw without loosening the object from left side to right ride several times.
- Then, shift your lower jaw bone back and forth.
It takes care of strengthening the muscles around the jawbone and reduce pain around this region.
4) Chin Tucks
It aims at strengthening the cervical muscles for better alignment in your jaw bone. Here is the procedure:
- Sit or stand straight. Keep your shoulders back whilst erecting the chest up.
- Look straight ahead. Now pull your chin and head straight back to a certain extent.
- Hold in this position for 5 seconds and repeat it 10 times throughout the day.
This helps in keeping your head aligned with the body thereby fixing the distress in regions such as the jaw, neck around the skull.
5) Mandibular stabilization exercise
The mandibular stabilization exercise is targeting in improving the jaw bone alignment and improves its range of motion.
- Keep your thumb at the left or right end of the base of the jaw. Push the region gently and open your mouth slowly.
- Repeat the process on another side of the jaw and do this 5 times a day.
Bottom line
TMJ pain is a common problem and generally happens with applying extensive pressure over the teeth such as biting hard objects frequently, teeth grinding, clenching, etc. In most cases, the pain goes on its own and dental doctors prescribe various self-care tips to stay away from those TMJ disorders.
The TMJ exercises we have demonstrated here are also a part of the treatment most dental doctors recommend. They do not cause any side effects and you can also perform them in a few minutes amidst your busy routine.
