- Are you suffering from jaw pain or jaw tension?
- Does your face ‘ache’?
- Have you noticed that you are biting the inside of your gum or edge of your tongue?
Often during times of stress we clench our jaw and or grind our teeth. which can lead to increasing headaches and regular migraines. Jaw tension can create muscular tension throughout the whole body which creates lethargy.
Try one of the three exercises below which are designed to gently release jaw tension :
Exercise 1
Great for regular teeth-grinders
- Gently bite a pencil eraser (aprox 1cm thick)
- Whilst holding the eraser between the teeth slide the lower jaw underneath the upper jaw.
- Hold for a few seconds relax and repeat.
NEED MORE HELP? BOOK YOUR TREATMENT HERE
Exercise 2
An instant fix if you notice that you are tensing your jaw
- Sit in an upright relaxed position.
- Close your mouth on your back teeth, resting the tip of your tongue behind the upper front teeth.
- Run the tip of your tongue backwards on to the soft palate as far back as it will go, keeping the teeth in contact.
- Slide the tongue back to maintain contact with your soft palate and slowly open your mouth until you feel your tongue just being pulled away from the soft palate.
- Do not try to open your mouth further.
- Keep it in this position for five seconds and then close your mouth.Relax for five seconds then repeat slowly for a few minutes.IMPORTANT NOTE: There should be no clicks or noise from your jaw, if there is please check your technique.
NEED MORE HELP? BOOK YOUR TREATMENT HERE
Exercise 3.
Self-massage- great to de-stress after work
- Start by clenching your teeth then place your index, middle and ring fingers (of each hand) on each side of the jaws. Release and re-clench your teeth to check you are in the right place… you should feel the muscle move under your fingertips.
- Breathe in, and on the out breath press into the muscle at its highest point (just under the cheek bone arch, close to the ear) Press in gently with your middle and ring fingers then circle clockwise 5 times slowly. Work down along the muscle until you reach the end of the jaw. Repeat 3 times. Repeat whole sequence this time starting with anti-clockwise circles.
- Next, place your thumbs on the corner of your jaw (on the ‘hinge’), rest your fingers on your head.
- Take a deep breath in and open your mouth slightly . As you breathe out, press your thumbs gradually into your jaw and hold. Slowly release. Repeat as many times as necessary to feel ‘free’.
- Move your thumbs from the hinge of the jaw to the corners (as in Step 2). Work down the jaw by pressing into the muscle, holding for 5 seconds and releasing.
Breathing in a relaxed manner whilst applying massage helps the body release muscle tension .
