TMJ Excercises

Exercises to improve the function of the temporomandibular joint.

The exercise aims to prevent clicking of the jaw and strengthen the muscles that pull your jaw backwards. It will relax the muscles, pulling your jaw forward or to one side as you open your mouth and removing the strain from your joints. Set aside two five-minute periods every day when you can relax, i.e. before you go to bed or when you get home from work.

1. Sit upright in a chair and close your mouth on your back teeth, resting the tip of your tongue on your palate just behind your upper front teeth.
2. Run the tip of your tongue backwards to the soft palate as far back as it goes, keeping your teeth in contact.
3. Force the tongue back to maintain contact with your soft palate and slowly open your mouth until you feel your tongue is pulled away from the soft palate.
4. Do not try to open your mouth any further; keep it in this position for five seconds and then close your mouth.
5. Relax for five seconds and then repeat 1–5 slowly over the next 5 minutes in a firm but relaxed way.

As you open your mouth, you should feel tension in the muscles at the back of your jaw and beneath your chin.

For the first few times you do the exercise, you should check in front of a mirror that the lower teeth move vertically downwards and that there is no movement from side to side as you open your mouth.

If the exercise is being carried out correctly, there should be no clicks or noise from the joints. If there is, you are probably not doing it properly and should carefully repeat steps 1-5.

Do this exercise no more than the recommended amount for the first week. Initially, it may worsen your pain, but this will be due to the unaccustomed exercise.

After that, do the exercise as often as you can; it will help strengthen the muscles around your joints. Suppose this exercise is carried out correctly and regularly over two to three weeks. In that case, you will retrain your muscles so that your jaw opens and closes smoothly without clicks or jerks, and any pain you are experiencing will subside.