TMJ disorders affect more than 15% of Americans according to the American Dental Association. TMJ disorders causes facial pain, jaw pain, headaches, and ear aches as a direct result of the temporomandibular joint not working correctly. The joint that connects your lower jaw impacts all areas of your face. When it isn’t functioning properly then these areas can become painful. In extreme cases, the functionality of your jaw becomes impaired.

Thankfully, there are various exercises that you can now due to ease the pain associated with TMJ disorders. These exercises may help alleviate pain for some, but because TMJ disorders can vary significantly from person to person, they may not be as effective for others. It’s always suggested that you contact a medical professional to get their opinion on if these exercises will benefit your TMJ condition.

Exercise to Improve Function and Alleviate Pain Caused by TMJ Disorders

We here at Mark Levy DDS understand the frustration caused by the pain of TMJ disorders and have put together some exercises that you can do to help retrain your jawbone so it moves correctly and without any pain. The goal of these exercises is to improve muscle strength and increase joint function.

These specific exercises are recommended by Oxford University Hospitals. When done correctly, they will strengthen the ligaments around your jaw to help alleviate the symptoms of your TMJ disorder. Each exercise takes approximately five minutes and should be performed twice a day.

To begin the first TMJ exercise, you’ll want to find a comfortable chair with good support. Sit up comfortably, maintaining proper posture. Close your mouth so that your upper and lower teeth are touching without clenching your jaw. Place the tip of your tongue behind your upper teeth on your palate. From here, you’ll run the tip of your tongue back towards your soft palate while keeping your teeth together, being careful not to clench. You’ll want to force your tongue back as far as you can comfortably go. Slowly begin to open your mouth until you feel your tongue being pulled away from your soft palate. Maintain this position for five seconds before relaxing.

You’ll want to repeat this exercise slowly, but consistently for five minutes. When you open your mouth during this exercise you should feel tension in the back of your neck and under your chin. If you start to experience any TMJ disorder symptoms such as clicking or other TMJ noises then try again until you no longer hear the clicks. During the first week this exercise can be done twice daily but after the first week has passed you can do the TMJ exercise more often if you would like. You may notice increased pain during the first week or two, but after about two or three weeks you should be pain free and your newly retrained TMJ muscles will work more smoothly.

TMJ Exercises to Keep TMJ Disorder Symptoms from Returning

After you’ve successfully retrained your TMJ to function properly you’ll want to perform other exercises to ensure that your symptoms don’t return. These additional TMJ exercises will keep your muscles strong and help prevent TMJ disorder symptoms from returning. None of these exercises should ever cause pain, so if it is painful to do any of these, be sure that you stop and let your doctor know.

Gentle resistance can help increase muscle function around your TMJ. You can do a resisted opening exercise by placing your thumb under your chin. Open your mouth slowly while gently applying pressure to your chin with your thumb. Hold for five seconds before slowly closing your mouth. The TMJ resisted closing exercise is done by placing both thumbs below your chin and both index fingers on the ridge between your chin and bottom lip. You’ll press down gently with your index fingers as you close your mouth.

Side to side TMJ exercises can also help improve function. Place an item that is about 1/4“thick between your front teeth and slowly and gently move your jaw side to side. You can increase the thickness of the object between your teeth as the exercise becomes easier. A forward movement TMJ exercise is also helpful. Beginning again with an object that is 1/4” thick you’ll place the object between your front teeth. Now move your lower jaw so that the bottom teeth are actually in front of the upper teeth. You can increase the thickness of the object as your comfort level increases.

Why You Should Practice TMJ Exercises

TMJ disorder is a condition that, when left untreated, can lead to more complex issues. It’s best to reach out to a medical or dental professional as soon as you notice symptoms so that they are able to evaluate your condition and let you know which exercises you should do to prevent pain and increase the function of your TMJ.

We are so used to exercising the rest of our bodies that many people don’t think to exercise areas such as their jaw. These exercises will greatly improve your TMJ function and allow you live with less pain and inconvenience.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about TMJ disorders, please contact Mark Levy DDS at (614) 777-7350.