Reduce TMJ-Related Pain and Discomfort

October 15, 2021

In 2017, I wrote a blog post about the enhancement of sports performance and the temporal mandibular joint (TMJ). This post is about how the TMJ can be the root cause of head, neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. It includes tips on how to relax the TMJ to help diminish pain.

Muscle tissue plays three primary roles:

• It provides the ability to get from point A to point B, essentially moving our bodies.
• It protects from severe injury to the body’s bones and organs.
• It is the first response to stress.

External stress can be environmental. For example, while standing at a bus stop when a bus leaves, the muscle tissue restricts to prevent too much intake of carbon monoxide.

Internal stress is either retained in the muscle tissue or released consciously. For example, exercise like running or yoga helps you decompress from mental or physical stress. Emotional stress can linger and cause muscular pain discomfort and that can turn into a repetitive of pain/spasm/pain cycle, which can be difficult to get out of.

When I see a client with headaches, neck, shoulder, or facial pain, the source is either a trauma—like a car accident—or stress that has manifested in an over-restriction of the muscles of the upper body.

If this is the case, then I observe the client’s hands. If one or both of their hands are fully closed or their fingers are just slightly curled, this indicates that there may be a clenching pattern of the TMJ.

That repetitive tension can cause pain and restriction in the upper extremities. The hands and the jaw go together. Emotions (like anger, worry, and fear) are expressed through the involuntary contraction and release of muscles.

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Long after the initial issue that brought about unpleasant emotions, you may continue to physically hold the tension in your jaw and hands, thus causing muscles to repetitively contract, which leads to increased pain.

Follow these steps to release this repetitive tightness in the face and hands.

Step #1: Start with your hands. If your fingers are either gently or tightly closed, open them.

Muscles in your forearms are contracted when your fingers are closed, and your shoulders naturally fall slightly forward. When your shoulders shift forward, your head posture moves slightly forward, causing upper back and neck muscles to tighten to hold your head, which weighs between 8 and 12 pounds.

NOTE: If your fingers are curled partway or all the way closed, making a fist, then there is tension of some level in your mouth and jaw.

Step #2:  To determine if you are holding tension in your mouth and jaw, ask yourself these questions:

Are you biting down (are all your teeth touching)?

On the Inside of your mouth, are the inside of your cheeks touching the sides of your teeth (either lightly or firmly)?

Is your tongue pressed up against your teeth?

Answering yes to one or all of the questions indicates that your masseter muscle (cheek muscle) is contracted.

Step #3: Relax the masseter muscle.

• First, place the belly of your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
  • Notice that your back teeth are not touching. You have just unlocked your TMJ, (jaw joint).
  • Now your masseter muscle is relaxed. You have also relaxed the secondary tension in your hands, forearms, shoulders, and neck.
  • To break this pattern of jaw tension, you must consciously recognize whether the tension reoccurs. When you do, repeat the steps above and say to yourself: “Tongue on my pallet, back teeth apart.”
• Next, you can actively massage the masseter muscle by placing your fingertips along your Zygomatic bone (cheek bone), and gently dragging your fingers downward to your mandible (lower jawbone).

• Repeating these two steps frequently will help replace and reduce the tension and stress we all carry in our soft tissue.