Chiropractor for Jaw Pain

TMJ Chiropractor for Jaw Pain

If there are two things that humans love to do out of all the things a human could do and achieve in their life, whether it be building the pyramids, starting a family or creating a magnificent work of art, it comes down to this . . . we like to eat and we like to talk.

The jaw is the most used joint in the body. Imagine how many times you open and close it in a simple conversation.

“Hey, I’m going to the shops. Do you want anything?”

How many times did you open and close your mouth in that sentence?

I counted 12 or 13 times. Then take eating a meal. Every morsel of food is meant to be chewed on average 32 times, depending on the kind of food

With all this jaw movement from talking and eating, it’s no wonder that we get problems with our jaw. This could be in the form of muscle stiffness. If could be clicking or even locking of the jaw.

Jaw Anatomy

The jaw is made up of the mandible, maxilla and the joint itself, the temporomanibular joint or TMJ for short. The mandible is the moveable part of the jaw that drops down and raises up when you talk and eat. It holds our lower teeth, blood vessels and nerves.

The vertical part of the jaw are called rami. Muscles used for chewing and talking attach to the rami so they can be a common area of soreness. The maxilla is the fixed part of the upper jaw, holding our upper teeth. The TMJ are the hinges of the jaw on either side of your face.

Two major muscles that close the jaw are the masseter and temporalis muscles. The masseter muscles runs from around the cheek bone to the bottom angle of the jaw on the side. The temporalis, as the name implies, sits around the area of your temples.

These powerful muscles are often sources of pain and tension and these are the ones I’m going to explain to you how to release. There are other smaller muscles that help control jaw movement, but unless you know what you’re doing, I wouldn’t recommend poking around these areas as the surrounding tissues can be very sensitive.

How to Release Your Jaw Muscles

To release the muscles, just use two or three fingers from each hand and rub on the muscles themselves. Find a tender point that feels like a tight muscle and gently rub into it. You can run your fingers up and down, side to side or in circles for around 30 seconds. Once that area feels looser, you can move onto another area.

When rubbing the temples, be careful not to push too hard as the skull has a lot of joints in this area which can be sensitive when pushed hard.

TMJ Video: Easy Self Massage for Jaw Pain

You’ll probably find that by massaging and rubbing on these muscles, your jaw will feel less stiff, more free and have less pain.

And there you have it!

It’s not rocket science.

Chiropractor for Jaw Pain

Of course, there are other sources of jaw pain and stiffness which will require more expertise and knowledge to deal with. The TMJ joint itself can have various problems which chiropractors are well equipped to deal with. And of course, dentists are great for your dental problems. If you are having problems with the jaw, contact us and we’d be happy to help.