TMJ Massage Helps Reduce Jaw Pain

The jaw or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is vulnerable to joint disorders. Disorders of the jaw are typically referred to by the same name: TMJ or TMJD.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) connects the mandible to the skull’s temporal bone and allows the movements of biting, chewing, swallowing, speaking, and making facial expressions.

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD) can cause tooth pain and headaches, or painful popping in the jaw. Pain is the most common TMJD symptom. The pain is often described as a transient, dull ache in the jaw joint and nearby areas, including the ear.

Some clients may not have pain but may find it difficult to move their jaw. Sometimes clients mistake TMJD symptoms for tooth pain, or they may experience headaches or grind their teeth.

A TMJ treatment can help relieve all of these symptoms.

How Can TMJ Treatment Help?

Surprisingly, difficulty relaxing is a common cause of jaw dysfunction. Holding the tension, especially in the jaw, is a common response to stress. Emotional tension can easily manifest as TMJ pain.

TMJ treatment is an ideal massage technique to relieve the pain of TMJD. Our massage therapy is focused on the reduction of tension in the mastication muscles, releasing tension in the fascia of the face and mouth, and eliminating any trigger points.

TMJ Treatment vs Traditional Massage

Our TMJ Treatment is a massage therapy treatment of just the mouth, jaws, head, and sometimes neck to relieve TMJD. Applying pressure to trigger points in the jaw muscles can help relieve spasms and pain.

We use isometric contraction to gently stretch tensed muscle fibers and might use minimal resistance to further stretch the tissue. We follow the treatment with some relaxation techniques to enhance the relief of the targeted muscle.

This massage technique can restore the range of motion that typically regresses with TMJD.

What to Expect from a TMJ Massage at Precision Wellness

While treating TMJ, your massage therapist will focus treatment on the reduction of tension in the masticatory (chewing) muscles, eliminating trigger points—the painful “knots” felt in the muscle that refers to pain elsewhere—and releasing tension in the fascia tissue around the jaw area.

Fascia is the tough, dense connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, nerve, bone, blood vessel, and organ of the body.

Some of the common massages that your massage therapist will use when treating TMJ include:

• Swedish Massage
  • While this is the most common and well-known massage, it has a number of benefits; a primary one being that of relaxation. Our massage therapists are experts in providing relaxation through a full-body Swedish massage that can have a huge impact on reducing jaw tension, as stress contributes greatly to TMJ disorders.
• Neuromuscular Therapy
  • This technique involves our therapists applying pressure to trigger points in the jaw muscles to help relieve tension and return muscles to a relaxed state.