You might not be aware that your temporomandibular joints work hard to let you talk, eat and do other activities which you find so normal. When you develop TMJ disorder then your jaw could not work properly which results in jaw pain. Even though jaw pain is not the only symptoms of TMJ disorder but one should not ignore it.
The joints connect the jaws and skull and are located in the front of both ears. You can feel the joint by placing your finger in front of your ear by opening and closing your mouth.
The joint could develop TMJ disorder either by any injury, trauma, or teeth clenching and grinding and could develop symptoms like headache, jaw pain, neck pain or migraine.
The treatment for TMJ disorder is not as complex as one thinks, other than home remedies and oral medicine there are a few simple jaw stretches that can help you to get relief from the pain in a few days. If your symptoms don’t go away after taking medicines then your doctor can teach your jaw stretches which are helpful in pain relief and building strong jaw muscle.
Relaxed jaw exercises for TMJ stretch: Touch the upper floor of your mouth with your tongue but let your teeth come close to each other. Hold this for three to five seconds and repeat this five times.
Goldfish exercises partial opening: Put one finger on your TMJ joint and another finger of the other hand on your chin. Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Now, drop your lower jaw not complexly but partially and then move it back. Do the exercise alternatively for both the jaws. Repeat it six times in one set and do six sets daily for better results.
Goldfish exercises full opening: This is the same as the partial; there is the only difference, that is you need to drop your lower jaw completely instead of partially. Place your tongue on the upper floor and put one finger of one hand at your TMJ joint and other hand’s finger on your chin. Then drop your jaw completely and close it back. Repeat the same for six times in a set and do six sets daily for pain relief.
Chin tucks: Keep your back straight, and chest up. Now hold your chin back to give it a double chin effect. Hold it for 3 seconds and then repeat the same ten times.
Resisted opening of the mouth: Put thumb under your chin. Now open your mouth slowly and provide resistance to it while opening by thumb. Hold it for six seconds and then close your mouth.
Resisted closing of the mouth: Hold your chin with your thumb and index finger. While closing your mouth provides gentle resistance to your chin. The exercise is best for those who are experiencing pain while chewing.
Tongue up: Touch the upper floor of your mouth and then slowly open/close your mouth.
Side-to-side jaw movement: Put an object in between your upper and lower teeth. Now move your jaw side to side slowly. Put a little thicker object when you feel that exercise becomes comfortable.
Forward jaw movement: Put an object in between your upper and lower teeth and move your jaw backwards and forward. When you get comfortable with exercise you can put a thick object between your teeth.
These jaw stretches are helpful in strong muscle building and get relief from jaw pain. Keep in mind that when you are doing this exercise if you feel pain you must stop it there. Do not force yourself to do it if it hurts.