While TMJ can cause pain, stiffness, swelling and a myriad of uncomfortable symptoms there are TMJ exercises that can help alleviate the pain and correct the problem with one stone. The first step of recovery is to understand TMJ. TMJ is the inflammation of the joints around the jawbone. The inflammation causes pain and stiffness in the face and mouth. The type of TMJ exercises required will depend heavily on the cause of your TMJ and what your doctor believes the best course of action is, but there are exercises that can be done to help even the most complex and chronic cases of TMJ.
TMJ Exercises To Stretch The Jaw
TMJ exercises can help to loosen and stretch the Temporomandibular joint, and thus, alleviate some of the discomfort associated with TMJ. The goal of the stretch exercises is to prepare the joint for strength exercises that will further alleviate the pain. There is a simple exercise to stretch the Temporomandibular joint.
Sitting back with your head against a headrest place your tongue at the rough of your mouth and stretch your mouth open to a point that is comfortable for you. The motion of keeping your tongue against the roof of your mouth while opening will help to stretch the joint. Along with preparing the Temporomandibular joint for further exercises the stretching of the joint can help to break up tension in the mouth, jaw and neck caused by the disorder.
Strength Through TMJ Exercises
The next goal of TMJ exercises is to strengthen the jaw and the muscles that go into chewing and speaking in order to keep the stress off of the Temporomandibular joint. There are several different strengthening exercises that can help reduce the strain on the joint and the exercises that work for you will depend entirely on the reason behind your TMJ and how bad the disorder is. A doctor should be able to recommend the best course of strengthening exercises for your specific type of TMJ and the symptoms that are associated with it.
Most patients find that standing in front of a mirror and watching their jaw open and close to be highly informative. In most cases the jaw opens crooked for TMJ patients. While standing in front of the mirror correct the jaw with your hands so that it opens completely straight. Repeat this motion 10 times each day. The repetition of this TMJ exercise will train the mouth to open correctly and will also help strengthen the muscles that haven’t been properly used because of the crooked movement of the jaw.
Stabilizing The Jaw With TMJ Exercises
Aside from stretching and strengthening TMJ exercises the jaw must also be stabilized through the use of stabilization exercises. Stabilization exercises aim to keep the jaw in alignment and reduce the strain that is being placed on the joints to compensate for poor placement of the jaw bone. By stabilizing the muscles around the mouth the joint is given the opportunity to rest and realign properly, and thus alleviate the pain associated with the inflammation.
Stabilization TMJ exercises vary just like strengthening exercises. It is important to try out several until you find one that you are comfortable preforming on a daily basis.
Many patients find that opening the mouth one inch and moving the jaw to the left, then swinging it to the right can help stabilize the muscles and joints. The exercise should be repeated ten times alternately on each side. This exercise needs to be done carefully because overworking the joint can cause more pain than TMJ itself. The movement, however, can help to stabilize the joint and create a better environment for further treatment.
TMJ exercises are one of the ways to help alleviate the symptoms of TMJ, but it is only the beginning of the road to recovery. There are many more exercises and treatments that can be utilized in conjunction with the above exercises for a complete approach to TMJ treatment. The first step to understanding how to deal with TMJ, above all is to understand the disorder and how to best approach it. TMJ exercises are one of the ways to deal, effectively, with TMJ.
