What is TMJ?
There is a joint in our body that can move backward and forward left and right side as well as up and down, the joint is called temporomandibular joints or TMJ joint. The joint is responsible for the jaw movements and connects your skull to your jaw. You might not think about this TMJ joint but the joint allows you when you speak, chew or swell easily and if you are facing any difficulty then you might be suffering from TMJ disorder.
How to treat TMJ disorder?
While many times the symptoms of TMJ disorder vanish without taking any medical help but if it is interfering with your day to day life then you must consider medical help.
Various TMJ exercises can help you to get rid of TMJ pain, some of them are mentioned below. Make sure that while you are doing your jaw exercise do it for both jaws and do at least for 5 minutes to get relief from TMJ pain.
Relaxed jaw exercise: In relaxed jaw opening exercise, you need to open your mouth and relax your tongue behind the upper front teeth of your mouth and apply the pressure from your tongue. Hold it there for 5-10 seconds and repeat 5-10 times. You will get relief from pain as it allows your jaw to relax.
Goldfish exercise for partial opening: Place your tongue on the upper surface of your mouth and put your pointer or middle finger on the front of the chin. Use the finger of the other hand and place it in front of your ear where your TMJ joint is located. Now open your mouth partially and close, it will provide resistance to the jaw but not pain. Hold it for 3-5 seconds and do it alternatively on both sides and repeat 5-10 times.
Goldfish exercises for full opening: Like goldfish partial opening exercise you need to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and one finger on the TMJ joint while another finger from another hand on the chin. The only difference in this is you need to open your complete mouth instead of half. Do this with both the jaws and to get relief from TMJ pain, repeat it 5-6 times.
Chin Tucks: To keep your shoulders back you need to put your hands backside of your body. Doing this your chest will be raised as you need your shoulder back and chest up for this exercise. Now pull your chin back and forth to create a “double chin” effect. While you are pushing your chin back, hold it for 3 seconds. Repeat the same for 10 times.
Resisted opening of the mouth: As the name suggests “resisted opening”, you need to create an effect that provides resistance to your mouth while you are trying to open it. To provide resistance, you need to place the thumb of your hand under the chin and apply pressure, now open your mouth slowly. Do this exercise gently and hold it for 3-6 seconds.
Resisted closing of the mouth: To strengthen the chewing power you need to practice this exercise. This exercise requires a situation where you are not able to close your mouth. To create such a situation, you need to hold your chin with your thumb and index finger. Now put a gentle pressure on your chin while slowly closing your mouth.
Tongue up: Make your tongue touch the upper surface of your mouth and now slowly and gently close your mouth. While doing this exercise do not put too much pressure on your mouth muscles.
These are the best exercises for TMJ pain relief. If you are suffering from TMJ disorder then you can practice with them.