Some TMJ Exercises ThatAid To Relieve Pain Caused TMJ Disorders
Pain is a subjective personal experience and thus it can never be measuredby another person. There are disorders that are characterized by pain and in severe forms could cause disruption to the lifestyle of a person. One of which is TMJ or temporomandibular joint disorders. They are actually a group of complex problems of the jaw joint. They are also referred as myofacial pain dysfunction and Costen’s syndrome.
The temporomandibular joint is obviously the affected area of this disorder. The joint could be located by putting a finger to the triangular structure in the front of the ear. For a person with a temporomandibular joint disorder, the motion of the joint felt from fingers being moved just slightly forward and firmly pressed while opening the jaw as well as putting a little finger against the inside front area of the ear canal causes substantial discomfort.
There are certain treatments for TMJ disorder ranging from the non-surgical to surgical interventions depending on the severity of the disorder. Performing TMJ Exercises is one of the non-surgical interventions falling under physical therapy.
Since TMJ disorders are caused by faulty behavioral habits such as teeth grinding and clenching as well as fingernail biting or habitual gum chewing, doing TMJ Exercises would help relieve the condition and among which include:
- The soft plate exercise
To go through with this exercise, you have to sit up straight and close your teeth but do not clench it. Put the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. After which, slide your tongue backwards until such time that you feel a soft area and that is the soft palate located at the back portion of the roof of your mouth. Hold the tongue there then open your mouth slowly until the tongue pulls away naturally from the soft palate. This is done only for a few times in a day initially and the frequency of doing the exercise increases later on. This exercise could be difficult to do for a person with TMJ disorder but after some time, it could benefit as to relieve the pain caused by the disorder.
- The muscle stretching exercise
This is intended for those who do not have a deviated jaw. It is a simple yet effective exercise to lessen pain as well as reduce the chance of developing a deviated jaw. It is done by initially opening the mouth normally then slowly as wide possible while still maintaining a level of comfort then slowly closes it. Next, open the mouth slowly to the left in the same manner and closing it slowly afterwards. Do similarly to the other side of the mouth. This exercise could be performed several times in a day in practically any setting. Among the TMJ Exercises, this exercise is manageable to do for people with TMJ disorder. The expected result is that the muscles of the TMJ become strong and thereby could aid in the relief of pressure and pain.
- The jaw deviation exercise
Jaw deviation transpires when the muscles in one joint are stronger compared to the other joint wherein as a result, the mouth opens at an odd angle. The purpose of doing this exercise is to aid in the correction of the condition by strengthening the weaker joint. Look into the mirror then proceed with opening and closing the mouth in a natural way to find out the angle at which the mouth opens. Then hold a straight object such as a ruler vertically in front of the middle portion of your chin as you open your mouth. It would aid you to know which side your mouth opens. Next, open your mouth in a slow manner while maintaining the chin centered as well as correcting the imbalance. Do not let your mouth open at an angle. The frequency of doing the exercise has to be 10 times in three separate sets. This could be difficult to do initially like the first mentioned exercise and could cause strain to the weak muscles in one side of the jaw but it will eventually aid in the strengthening of the weak side as well as for imbalance correction.
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