Tight Jaw. What should I do?
Wondering what you can do for jaw clenching?
The temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, is one of the most used joints in the body. It’s what lets you open and close your mouth, and also helps you extend and move your jaw side to side. You rely on it all the time for things like eating, talking, laughing, yawing and expressing.
Plenty of my clients clench or grind their jaw. The technical term for this is “bruxism”. Why do you do it? Short answer, it’s a stress response - a way that your body can burn off that extra energy.
Bruxism can show up alongside headaches and facial pain, a sore jaw, tooth pain/sensitivity, cracked teeth, ringing in the ears, and from an aesthetic point of view - “jowls” or a puffy jawline and cheeks.
For many it’s an unconscious response that is happening while sleeping but it can also occur whilst concentrating, working, driving, and doing other activities.
OVERCOMING JAW CLENCHING
The first step is to realise that you are clenching. And try to catch yourself when you are. Stop what you’re doing, relax your jaw (maybe open and clsoe it a few times) and take a few deep breaths.
Ask yourself if there are ways you can reduce your stress? Maybe it’s through exercise, sleeping longer, massage, meditation, having a break from alcohol or caffeine, spending more time with loved ones, putting less pressure on yourself, talking to a therapist - find what works for you.
Via Oxford University Hospital here’s an exercise you could explore:
close your mouth and make sure your teeth are touching but not clenching. Rest the tip of your tongue on your palate, just behind your upper front teeth.
Run the tip of your tongue backwards towards your soft palate at the back of your mouth as far back as it will go. Keeping your teeth gently together.
Hold your tongue back in the position to keep contact with the soft part of your palate and slowly open your mouth until you feel your tongue being pulled away. Do not open your mouth any further. Stay in this position for 5 secs, then close your mouth and relax.
Repeat several times. NB. Initially do this in a mirror and make sure your lower teeth move vertically, not off to one side. There should be no clicks or noise from your joints while performing.
Via Cleveland Clinic here’s 2 intentional exercise you could also consider:
Exercise 1:
Stand tall with your back against a wall.
Pull your chin toward the wall, creating a “double chin” look.
Hold for 3 to 5 secs.
Repeat several times.
Exercise 2:
Place your thumb underneath your chin
While opening your mouth, apply pressure upwards to your chin with your thumb.
Hold for 3 to 5 secs, before closing your mouth.
Repeat several times.
Here are some other things you could look into:
Breathe through your nose instead of mouth. This allows for a better alignment of your tongue and jaw.
Try to adapt a decent posture throughout your day. This doesn’t need to be rigid or uncomfortable. Just check in on little things like - if your spine is regularly hunched? Is your neck protracting forward frequently? Are you straining your eyes? Are your shoulders rounded?
Breathe deeply into your belly instead of taking short shallow breaths in your upper chest.
Avoid chewing gum, biting your nails or lower lip.
Book in for a Face Massage with me, to help relieve stress as well as muscle and fascia relief.
If this issue doesn’t get better, make an appointment with your dentist and or a TMJ Physiotherapist.
Written by Tarren Hehir, Remedial + Lymphatic Massage Therapist.
References
https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/media/qcxidm43/69966tmj.pdf
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/tmj-massage
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001413.htm
