Exercises for TMJ Self-Care

TMJ exercises can be a first step self-care strategy from the comfort of your home to relieve and help manage TMJ pain.

TMJ self-care exercises are a foundational home-based strategy to relieve jaw and facial pain, improve mobility, and strengthen jaw muscles, helping manage temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder symptoms. This article will give you answers and ways to take action.

Does Physical Therapy Help Treat Jaw Pain?

Home exercises and jaw self-cares can help ease jaw pain, improve ability to open the jaw and improve daily function. It is part of key practices for effective management of jaw pain and temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). “TMD treatment should primarily be based on encouraging supported self-management and conservative approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral treatments and physiotherapy (physical therapy)” for good TMD clinical practice, according to The Journal of Craniomandibular & Sleep Practice^[1]

Are There Specific Exercises for TMJ Self Care?

Yes, specific exercises can aid in TMJ self-care, including resisted mouth opening and closing, side-to-side jaw movement, and forward jaw movement. Specific exercises help relieve jaw muscle tension and discomfort. It helps to visualize your jaw anatomy. For example, a person’s jaw-closing muscles include the masseter and temporalis. Let’s break this down for you.

Types of At-Home Jaw Exercises

1. Relaxation Exercise: Diaphragmatic breathing with light touch helps promote body calming and reduce muscle tension.
2. Strengthening & Posture Exercise for Head, Neck, and Jaw Alignment: Helps strengthen and stabilize targeted muscles for improved alignment and function.
3. Active Stretch: Helps gently stretch tight muscle, improve joint mobility and thus reduce pain.
4. Coordination: Coordination exercises focus on improving the jaw’s ability to perform complex movements efficiently and can effectively manage painful TMJ conditions.

TMJ jaw and posture strengthening exercise:

Good posture aligns the head and neck, meaning, this helps your jaw maintain proper positioning during this exercise. This builds core strength crucial for head, neck and jaw health. Studies have found that there are correlations between jaw dysfunction and posture. ^[5]

1. Tighten your tummy and buttocks as if you are zipping up pants that are bit too tight. This will engage your core.
2. Gently bring your shoulders down and back moving them toward the opposite back pocket.
3. Gently tuck your head back, think of stretching your neck upward and taller. Imagine you are a puppet on a string. Think of balancing your head over neck and shoulders.
4. Maintain the proper rest posture of the jaw: with the tongue lightly resting up on the roof of the mouth, as if saying the letter “n” and the teeth resting apart. Think of relaxing your cheeks, think of a saggy, floating, melting, droopy jaw. Note if clicking or jaw popping noise within your joints occurs. If so, log and report.

TMJ jaw relaxation exercise:

Manage stress and learn relaxation techniques- stress and anxiety can contribute to TMD symptoms as we often tense our jaw and neck muscles when stressed. Recognizing and learning specific techniques can promote relaxation and help calm the nervous system. Light touch also facilitates relaxation.

Steps for relaxed diaphragmatic breathing exercise with light touch:

1. Engage your diaphragm, the primary breathing muscle, by taking slow, deep breaths.
2. Breathe in through the nose, expanding your abdomen gently for a count of 4, then breathe out slowly, relaxing your muscles for a count of 8.
3. Do 3-4 breaths, place hands lightly on the sides of your face bringing them down over cheeks as you breathe out.

Our muscles naturally tend to relax as we breathe out. Think of a saggy, floating, melting, droopy jaw during the above exercise.

TMJ active stretch exercise:

This helps increase your ability to open your jaw more comfortably.

1. Start with good posture.
2. Slowly open your jaw as far as it is comfortable without creating jaw pain or noise, just to the point of a start of a stretch.
3. Hold a gentle stretch for a few seconds, then relax your jaw.
4. Repeat per your orofacial pain specialist’s directions.

Each of the above different types of exercises serve distinct purposes in managing temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and dysfunction.

The Goldfish Exercise may also be recommended for relaxation in your jaw and neck area. It aids retrusive jaw muscles to take a position that supports relaxation of the jaw-closing muscles. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) therapy can help reduce muscle tension and pain by stimulating the release of endorphins. While TENS therapy is not a form of physical exercise for the jaw muscles, it offers a method of pain relief and muscle relaxation.

TMJ jaw coordination exercise:

This controlled TMJ rotation exercise helps align the jawbone while chewing by offering jaw resistance training.

1. Keep tongue on the roof of your mouth. Slowly open and close. Imagine your jaw falling open and floating closed.
2. Think about maintaining a relaxed and loose jaw as you hold open for a bit; visualize your jaw melting. Stop if you feel the condyle and the ball of the joint move forward into your fingers.
3. Do this a few times, moving gently. Stop if you feel increased pain.

With all the exercises proceed slowly, take small steps and keep up healthy habits even if you are not seeing progress. It takes time to improve a condition that may have been building for quite some time, even years. Do not aggravate the pain more than a few minutes after the exercises.

What is The Effect of Exercise Therapy for Jaw Pain?

TMD experts advised that jaw exercises are an effective treatment and can be recommended to patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and disturbed jaw function. ^[2] The Journal of Biomedicines 2022 points out the physical therapy could maintain the functional state at the temporomandibular and cervical levels, thus contributing to increasing the quality of daily life. ^[3] A study of 100 patients published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that improvements in mouth opening, pain ratings and disability improved with physical therapy. ^[4]

Orofacial pain and TMJ conditions often involve a complex mixture of physiological, psychological and social factors. This often makes it challenging for doctors, dentists and professionals to help you achieve pain relief. While exercises are an important part of recovery, it often takes an integrated approach. The multi-disciplinary approach at Twin Cities Minnesota Head and Neck Pain clinic can prescribe a recovery plan that addresses your specific needs.

By engaging in these (pain relief and jaw mobility) exercises, individuals can rehabilitate and re-educate their muscles, promoting proper muscle activation, timing, and coordination. This rehabilitation process contributes to improved jaw function and reduced TMD symptoms. Stretching and coordination exercises offer relaxation and stress reduction benefits. The focused and controlled movements involved in these exercises can help individuals experience a sense of calmness and relaxation. This can positively impact their overall well-being and help alleviate the stress associated with TMDs.” – Effectiveness of exercise therapy on pain relief and jaw mobility in patients with pain-related temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review

 

How long does it take for TMJ exercises to work?

Proceed slowly with all of the jaw exercises. At our clinic we always encourage our clients to keep up healthy habits, even if not seeing progress. It can take a while to see progress, especially as the condition may have been building for quite some time, even years. The good news is that you can feel better!

Oxford University says, “On average, many individuals might start to notice improvements after about 2 to 4 sessions. However, this can depend on several factors, including the severity of your TMD, the specific techniques being employed, and your overall response to treatment.”

Do not aggravate the pain more than a few minutes after the exercises.

“My patients consistently report how beneficial self-care interventions have been for them. They appreciate being able to take an active role in managing their symptoms and caring for their jaws through learning specific joint protection and self-care techniques that they can do on their own.” – Patricia Weber

 

If your symptoms are not improving, seek professional guidance early. Don’t wait until jaw pain alters your lifestyle. Gain a deeper understanding of TMJ Treatment Options and how to manage jaw clenching.

What Common Treatments Complement TMJ Self-Care Practices?

Minnesota Head & Neck Pain Clinic specialists may recommend a variety of options.

Common professional treatments in conjunction with TMJ home exercises:

• A customized physical therapy plan.
• The use of TMJ oral appliances (mouthguards to ease bruxism).
• Some physical therapists might use treatments like ultrasound or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) to help manage pain.
• Monitored medications.
• Botox and other treatments to augment your TMJ self-care.

SUMMARY: Experience the Benefits of TMJ Self-Care Exercises

Most individuals gain improvement from jaw discomfort with conservative TMJ treatments and lifestyle adjustments. Home exercises and self-cares can be a part of an effective plan for managing jaw pain. An accurate diagnosis and personalized plan of care can be extremely helpful.

Your TMJ specialist and physical therapist may team and discuss possible causes of your jaw pain

 

Resources:

[1] Daniele Manfredini, et al. “Temporomandibular Disorders: INfORM/IADR Key Points for Good Clinical Practice Based on Standard of Care,” Oct 2024, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/08869634.2024.2405298

[2] Erik Lindfors, et al., “Jaw Exercises in the Treatment of Temporomandibular Disorders-An International Modified Delphi Study,” June 2019, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31247061/

[3] Maria Craciun, et al., “Effectiveness of Physiotherapy in the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction and the Relationship with the Cervical Spine, November 2022, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9687864/

[4] Gabriela Fisch, et al., “Outcomes of Physical Therapy in patients with Temporomandibular Disorder: A Retrospective Review,” Feb 2021, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33280944/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557986/

[5] Chu-Qiao Xiao, et al., “Do Temporomandibular Disorder Patients with Joint Pain Exhibit Forward Head Posture? A Cehpalometric Study,” February 2023, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36776487/