10 Sep Exercises for Jaw Pain
WARNING! There is no sexy way to perform these jaw exercises…
The first few demonstrate self massage to the jaw muscles. With your jaw relaxed (mouth slightly open), place your fingers under your cheekbones and in a circular motion, apply gentle pressure to the muscles for 10-20 sec.
Then place your fingers slightly higher than your cheekbone and your ear. Gently massage this area in a similar way. Then gently push down the side of your face from this muscle to below your cheekbone.
Repeat these a few times each, especially after you feel you have been clenching your teeth.
The next exercises involve working your jaw muscle without really moving your jaw. First place your fist under your chin with your mouth slightly open, then try to further open your jaw but resisting the movement by applying a gentle pressure upwards with your fist. Hold this for 5 seconds (repeat 5x).
Then relax your jaw, open your mouth slightly and place your hand on one cheek. Move your lower jaw into this hand while resisting the movement with your hand. Hold this position for 5 sec then repeat on the other side (5x each side).
Remember working on your neck and upper back mobility is also very important in managing jaw pain so be sure to check out my previous posts with exercises for this (click here and here). Of course I still recommend seeing a physio for more specific advice on how to treat your jaw pain, as I mentioned in a previous post (click here) there can be a lot of different factors that contribute. To find a physio in your area of Australia or New Zealand click here.
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