10 Common TMJ Pain Relief Exercises You Should Know

With nearly 15% of Indians affected by TMJ disorders, it's not uncommon for people to have jaw pain or problems with the jaw or understand the severity of this disorder. Also, are you aware that it can affect your daily life and cause discomfort and that you need medical attention to help yourself?

Let's understand TMDs if you do not know!

TMJ Disorders, Temporomandibular Joint Disorders or TMDs, relate to jaw dysfunction, causing difficulty with jaw movement. It is one of the common disorders that cause severe jaw pain.

Think! Do you suffer from jaw pain, difficulty chewing, clicking or popping sounds in the jaw, ear pain, headaches, and locking of the jaw joint-like symptoms? It's TMJ Disorder.

Jaw injuries, arthritis, or genetic factors are some of the Causes and Risk Factors of TMJ Disorders.

But don't worry, if there's a problem, there's a solution too. You don't have to let these disrupt your daily life because we have expert advice ready for you to self-manage this. We do not mean this doesn't need proper treatment, but self-exercising doubles the treatment and recovery speed.

So, HealMe Pain Clinic, known for providing the best TMJ Disorder Treatment in Ahmedabad for patients from all over, is here to share why exercising is important and 10 Common TMJ Pain Relief Exercises You Should Know to deal with the condition better.

Why is Self-Management Also Necessary for TMJ Disorders Pain Relief?

Doctors make efforts through proper medical care to treat your TMJ Disorder. Apart from that, they also share common TMJ pain relief exercises that you should do during and after you undergo their treatment.

Self-management with exercises or lifestyle changes improves your jaw function and movement. You get help with the reduction of jaw pain. Also! Why wait when you can stop your pain from worsening by taking action today through exercises? Not just experts but studies also show that the relief rate increases when you combine treatment (medical care) with self-management. In fact, up to 80% of those who practice regular TMJ exercises report evident relief in their symptoms!

Wait no more and read further about what exercises you can do to reduce your TMD pain -

10 Exercistes for TMJ Pain Relief

1. Relax Your Jaw

Start by massaging your jaw with fingertips in a circular motion to soothe the jaw muscles. With this, you will be able to reduce muscle tightness and related discomfort.

2. Jaw Stretch

In this, open your mouth widely (don't overdo it- let it be comfortable for you) for a few seconds. You will feel jaw muscles stretch. After that, gently close your mouth. This will help make your jaw move better and release muscle tension.

3. Resist Opening of Mouth

You have to place your thumb under your chin and then put pressure on the chin (apply resistance to the jaw/mouth opening) and open your mouth. As you do this, hold the position for some seconds and relax afterward. This exercise will help to make your jaw muscles strong.

4. Tuck Your Chin

Start by keeping your back straight (sit/stand). Next, pull your chin backward and downwards (like you show your double chin!) which is tucking your chin to the neck for some seconds. Relax later. What will Chin Tucks help with? You improve your posture and strengthen your neck muscles with one of TMJ Pain Relief Exercises.

5. Tongue Up to Palate

Here, place your tongue tip to the palate (roof of your mouth). Do not change your position. After this, at a slow pace, open and close your mouth. This is one of the common exercises to relieve jaw pain and align your jaw. Also, it improves the range of motion of your mouth.

6. Stretch Your Neck

In this neck stretching exercise, go left, right, up, and down slowly while holding the same position in each direction for a few seconds. Then, next, tilt your head toward your shoulder on each side and retreat to your normal position. These stretches release the stiffness in the neck, which eventually helps relieve TMJ pain.

7. Self-Massage

You have to put the heels of your palms on the sides of the head (temples). Then, clench your teeth. You feel tightness in the temple areas. Soothingly massage there. This is one of the effective methods to help manage your TMJ problem.

8. Goldfish Jaw-Tongue Exercise

This can be a partial or full mouth-opening exercise. Here, you have to touch your tongue on the palate. Put an index finger to the chin and another on any one side of the Temporomandibular joint (the place where your skull bone joins the jaw bone). Apply gentle pressure to put your chin down to open your mouth and close. (Remember, your tongue stays up!) Relieve pain and align your jaw with this technique.

9. Move Your Jaw

You have to move your jaw side-to-side in a controlled motion. You can place any object between your teeth to keep it stable and wide.

Next, keep an object between your front teeth and move your lower jaw forward. This will reduce jaw stiffness, and jaw pain and improve its movement.

10. Keep Control of Yawning

This is a preventive tip to avoid straining your jaw! Whenever you yawn, place your hand below your chin to support it. It will help you have a controlled stretch-relax motion of the jaw.

Now that you know 10 TMJ Exercises for Pain Relief by experts, do implement them correctly. All these exercises are not to be done just for once. Repeat it for some minutes/cycles daily for speedy TMJ Pain Relief. Many exercises work indirectly by helping you find relief from stiffness and muscle tension, promote better jaw movement, and finally, relieve your jaw pain.

If you have the slightest doubt, book an appointment. It is best if you start these exercises only after consulting TMJ Specialists. You will know how many times you have to do the exercises, which are the best for your condition, and what other precautions you need to take to relieve your TMD pain.

HealMe Orofacial Pain and TMD Clinic (Our name shows our expertise, and our happy patients, our expert care!) has the best team to help you with TMJ Disorders, Diagnosis, Treatment, and TMJ Pain Relief Exercises. We are a call away for complete assistance for your well-being.