TMJ Exercises - Ways to Alleviate Your TMJ Pain

TMJ, Temporomandibular joint disorder, is a condition in the jaw joints which causes pain, swelling, immobility and other symptoms that can hinder your quality and routine of daily life. If left untreated, the condition will worsen and could possibly result in the need for reconstructive surgery. While, there are many different causes for TMJ, the symptoms are the same and more easily defined than the causes. The most common symptoms of TMJ include swelling on the sides of the face, jaw joint pain, mobility issues with the joints, ear pain and headaches.

The causes of TMJ could include a botched dental procedure, habitual jaw movements (like excessive gum chewing or teeth grinding) and jaw disfiguration or bone loss problems. Some of the causes are an easy fix with just a night guard to stop grinding, while other causes require surgery to correct the problems with the jaw bones and attached joints.

There are some home remedies that can be used to manage the pain, not cure or correct the disease. For accurate treatment of the disease you must work with a medical professional, but TMJ exercises have been shown to help with the pain, discomfort and stiffness associated with hindering daily life of TMJ symptom sufferers. TMJ exercises include a series of movements that allows the jaw joints to loosen up and stretch while strengthening the muscles surrounding the joints.

There are a series of exercises that can be performed to help your jaw muscles relax and promote healthy jaw health. One exercise involves placing your fist under your chin and balancing the weight of your chin on your jaw while allowing it to relax. You should be able to do this without it clicking. This is an isometric exercise. Hold the position for ten seconds and release and repeat ten times in total. Another exercise that can be used to relieve TMJ symptoms is by pressing your fist against one side of your jaw and using the isometric energy to relax the jaw much as you did in the first exercise. Maintain a steady pressure and hold this position for ten seconds then release and repeat ten times just as above. Switch to the other side of your jaw and repeat the exercise.

There are other TMJ exercises that have been known to work, but these mentioned are the safest and have the lowest level of impact on your jaw joints and the muscles surrounding them. They are safe and can be used to help relieve pain and discomfort, or to prevent TMJ symptoms from popping up in the future. With these exercises and a treatment plan by your doctor you can be on your way to a TMJ symptom-free life.