The Mayo Clinic describes TMJ as the temporomandibular (tem-puh-roe-man-DIB-u-lur) joint (TMJ) acts like a sliding hinge, connecting your jawbone to your skull.  You have one joint on each side of your jaw.  TMJ disorders – a type of temporomandibular disorder can cause pain in your jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement.

The exact causes of a person’s TMJ disorder is often difficult to determine.  Your pain may be due to a combination of factors, such as genetics, arthritis, or jaw injury.  Some people who have jaw pain also tend to clench or grind their teeth and can also be genetic.

In most cases, the pain and discomfort associated with TMJ disorders is temporary and can be relieved with self-managed care, massage and in extreme cases may require surgery. For some, the pain comes and goes and is triggered by doing something like chewing a piece of gum all day.  For others, TMJ can be chronic and very painful. Here’s some good news – a TMJ massage can help relieve your pain!

When the jaw muscles are overly tight or imbalanced, manual therapy works well to help restore normal muscle tone and balance between the TMJ muscles.  Now, let us discus the fun part so you can get some relief!

• TMJ Kneading Massage provides constant, circular motion against the joins and muscles most affected by TMJ paint.
• TMJ Friction Massage – For some people, pressure alone is enough o find some relief.  That said, it needs to be done correctly and in the right place. 
• TMJ Stretching Massage – If you liked the friction massage, the TMJ stretching massage could further your relief and “exercise” the muscles most responsible for TMJ disorders.

Are you having jaw pain? Call Precision Wellness for a TMJ massage!

Massage therapy can go a long way helping your body restore nutrients to sore muscles, improving flexibility, and building your immunity. Did you know that massage can help make working out better too?

Here are seven  ways a massage can improve your overall health.

• Post workout recovery – A good, therapeutic massage helps loosen up your muscles after an intense workout, allowing you to recover from the impact better and faster than you normally would.  Massage helps restore some pliability.
• Soothe Sore Muscles – Your muscles can really ache after you put them through the ringer at the gym or while pounding the pavement during a run.  Massaging and stretching them can help work out the nots, flush out the toxins and get the blood flowing again so they do not hurt so much.
• Release tension – Painful trigger points, which are common in the back, are created by old injuries and can be relieved with specific massage techniques.  Trigger point massages help target areas that radiate pain, signaling the body to release these ultra-tight muscles and get bloody flowing again.
• Better working muscles – Regular exercise puts strain on your muscles, ligaments and tendons, and messes with those connective fibers under the skin known as your fascia – fascia helps the muscles work smoothly and efficiently when they are in good shape – the fascia can get really gunked up with repeated exercise, making it harder for muscles to slide past each other easily.  Massage helps loosen up those fibers, so the muscles are doing what they are supposed to with much less effort.
• Recover – A deep tissues massage targeting the big muscles you use the most – like quads and hamstrings – can help loosen up the muscles and restore some flexibility.
• Mental stability – If you are beating yourself up with high-intensity classes or weight training, massage can give you a nice balance with the happy endorphins from working out.  It is also a cortisol reducer (stress reliever).
• Prevent future injuries – Massage is amazing way to boost muscle recovery!  It corrects muscles train, muscles tension, and even the effects of stress or poor posture! 

Turns out massage is not just a luxury you splurge on at the spa! Call Precision Wellness to book your post-work out massage today!

We know that our massage therapist is going to ease muscle tension and help us work through injuries, but that hour on the table reveals so much more than just the stress we asked them to soothe. 

Here are 15 things your massage therapist can tell about your body without you saying a word:

• Type of purse you carry – Your body is tighter on one side when you carry a large purse. Glutes, hamstrings, and quads will be tight and you will also have an unnatural pelvic tilt.
• When you sit at a computer all day – Weak lower back, one hip higher than the other, tight glutes and legs, means you’ve got a desk job.
• The way you sleep – If you are a stomach sleeper, we can see extra strain on your neck.
• Drive a lot – When you rack up those miles, you tend to exhibit “hunched shoulders”.
• Injuries – New or old.  Massage therapist can feel heat and inflammation in an acute injury.  Chronic injuries show in the form of dehydrated muscles that feel tight.  And with repetitive motion injuries, tendons and muscles feel wiry like guitar strings.
• Too much texting – The downward position of your head when texting creates an imbalance in the shoulders.
• Dehydration – Upper back trigger points will be tender if you have not had your recommended eight glasses of water each day. Drink up, especially before and after your massage!
• Always cold – When you are cold, you tend to hunch up your shoulders to your ears, so it I no surprise when you come in with stress in your necks and the tops of your shoulders during winter months.
• You’re a runner – Hips and lower back will feel tight and you might complain about tension in the bottom of your feet.
• Allergy sufferer – The tissue around your eyes, forehead, cheeks, and jaw will feel tender and inflamed.  So will lymph nodes in the chest, neck and underarms.
• Bra is too tight – When you bra strap is too tight and cutting into your shoulder blade, the muscle above the scapula tightens in response to the pressure. 
• Hormonal – Sensitive area (trigger points) in the lower back that feel stickier, tense, hot, or rubbery to your massage therapist – and painful to you could mean you are about to ovulate or having your period.
• Might have skin cancer – As a massage therapist, we have our eyes on the back of your body, where you cannot generally see.  We can spot irregularities in places you cannot, and we’ll let you know if we see anything!
• You need a new pillow – Sleeping on a pillow that is wrong or too-old can throw off the alignment of your spine.  If your head is tilted down or up, it will put a strain on your neck. 

These are just a few things we can tell. When you come in with an area you want to focus on, just let us know! Regular massage will help muscle tension and to heal those imbalances.