Did you know that the resting position of your jaw and mouth plays a huge role in your posture? That's why many people with TMJ symptoms also are prone to neck pain and headaches.
So how should your jaw and mouth be when in a resting position, most of the time? Your tongue should be on the roof of your mouth and your teeth just slightly apart.
Many people spend most of their day with their teeth clenched. Not only does that do a number on your teeth, but it also puts increased stress on your jaw muscles and your TMJ.
Also, when you clench your teeth, it brings your head into a forward posture that puts strain on the muscles of the back of your neck.
So try it out today and notice how much of the day you spend with your teeth clenched together. The goal should be only 5% of the day should your teeth be touching!
I also want to show you guys my two favorite self-stretches for the muscles around the TMJ. These are the muscles we tend to clench and are called the masseter and the temporalis.
Like we said, your teeth should only be touching 5% of the time, and if you're doing more than that, you are probably overusing your jaw musculature. So how do we stretch them?
The first stretch is for the masseter muscle. Check out our second picture to see where the muscle is located and the places it can refer to. I've even had patients with pain in their back teeth or sinus pressure that have relieved their pain with this technique!
Masseter stretch
Step 1: Find your jaw bone
Step 2: Walk your fingers down until you find that muscle (if you clench and un-clench your teeth you should feel the muscle pop into your fingers).
Step 3: Press your fingers into the muscle
Step 4: While pressing into the muscle, give a downward force or pressure to give a little localized stretch to the muscle
Step 5: Open your mouth slowly and then close it. Repeat 10x
My caveat before these stretches is to make sure you're doing them in front of a mirror, make sure you are doing both sides at the same time, and ensure that you're mouth is opening straight and even (no funky curves or deviations!)
The second stretch is the temporalis stretch:
Step 1: Find your temple bone
Step 2: Walk your fingers upward until you find that muscle (same thing as above - clenching will help you find that muscle)
Step 3: Press your fingers into the muscle
Step 4: While pressing into the muscle, give a downward force or pressure to give a localized stretch to the muscle
Step 5: Open your mouth slowly and then close it. Repeat 10x
Hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!!
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