How to Loosen Tight Jaw Muscles

Tight jaw muscles are a pain. Literally.

If you don't have tight jaw muscles you might not imagine how difficult of a problem it is, but once they start to hurt, you realize how much you use your jaw. everything from chewing to talking to yawning to even clenching your teeth, all of these utilize your jaw muscles. And, if those jaw muscles are tight, all of these things can be painful, and there can seem to be no answer in sight. You can take Tylenol and ibuprofen but those only help so much, and you don’t want to live on them constantly. You may be asking “why is my jaw so tight” and“What can be done to help loosen my tight jaw muscles?

What Causes Tight Jaw Muscles?

TMJ

TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint, and TMJD is the disorder that sometimes vexes it. The temporomandibular joint is located between the lower jaw and the temporal bone, in front of and below the ear. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, an estimated 10 million people in the United States experience at least one TMJ disorder.

There can be many reasons for a TMJ disorder, and the tight jaw muscles they cause, including an injury, teeth grinding, or inflammation from infection. TMJ pain can manifest as tenderness in the jaw, the ear, the face, or the neck. Those tight jaw muscles can cause difficulty opening the jaw or chewing, and a loud popping sound can be heard. TMJcan also cause headaches.

Stress

When we're stressed or anxious our muscles tense up. Sometimes this tension is in our shoulders and back, sometimes in our neck, and sometimes in our jaws. Stress can make those jaw muscles tight, or cause us to clench our teeth unconsciously, or to grind our teeth. This constant tension can cause pain in the jaws and even give us headaches.

Arthritis

Different types of arthritis can cause pain in the jaw, including both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Although osteoarthritis mainly causes pain in the hands, knees, and hips, it can also hurt the jaw and make jaw muscles tight. And people who have rheumatoid arthritis are much more likely to have TMJ symptoms than the average person.

Teeth Grinding

Although teeth grinding can be a sign of stress or anxiety, it can also be attributed to several other things, including side effects of some medications as well as nervous system disorders. In some instances, teeth grinding can cause damage to the teeth and even break them.

How to Loosen Tight Jaw Muscles

Jaw Opening Exercises

There are many mouth opening exercises that you can do to help loosen tight jaw muscles. To start, open and close your mouth several times as a warm-up. Then take hold of your bottom teeth gently with one hand, and slowly pull down on your jaw until you begin to feel pain. At that point stop pulling and hold for 30 seconds, and then let your mouth close again.

As with any exercise, you want to start easy, only doing this three or four times, and then, over time, work your way up to ten or twelve repetitions.

Jaw Joint Stretch

This stretch uses your tongue to stretch the jaw forward. Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, behind your teeth. Then use your tongue to push your top teeth forward and, while doing that, slowly open your mouth, stretching those tight jaw muscles. Stop doing this when you feel pain. You can repeat this ten times.

Smile Stretch

Put on a happy face and smile as widely as you can to stretch your tight jaw muscles, and then open your mouth until you feel pain. Hold in place for ten seconds, then stop. Repeat ten times.

Chin Tucks

Stand with your back against a wall, and then pull your chin toward the wall (creating an overbite and a double chin). Hold for three to five seconds. Repeat ten times.

Mouth Guard

A mouth guard may be prescribed for you for either tooth grinding or TMJ. Mouthguards are typically worn at night. There are several brands you can buy or you can get a custom one made if your dentist feels that it’s necessary.

There are also mouth guards specifically for TMJ called splints, which gently hold the mandible in a forward position. Your doctor may recommend you wear this kind of splint 24 hours a day. It will reduce the strain on your tight jaw muscles.

Dietary Changes

Your doctor may recommend that you eat a diet of soft foods while your jaw muscles are stiff and tight. This is temporary and just done long enough to give your jaw and joints time to rest and heal. Nutritious foods to eat during this period would be applesauce, smoothies, mashed potatoes, yogurt, etc.

Trigger Point Massage

A massage of the masseter muscle can help to loosen the tight jaw muscles and ease the pain. This type of massage is typically done by experienced chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists or osteopathic physicians.

Are you experiencing tight jaw muscles orTMJ pain?