{"id":994,"date":"2017-08-12T15:35:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-12T20:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/?p=994"},"modified":"2025-07-11T17:44:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T22:44:53","slug":"jaw-exercises-for-tmj-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/jaw-exercises-for-tmj-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Jaw Exercises for Overcoming TMJ Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/AdobeStock_41240360.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-995\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/AdobeStock_41240360-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"My oral surgeon treated my TMJ pain. \" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/AdobeStock_41240360-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/AdobeStock_41240360-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/AdobeStock_41240360.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Chronic jaw pain is uncomfortable at best and debilitating at worst. Your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/tmj.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TMJ (temporomandibular joint)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may ache due to misaligned teeth, facial trauma, or for many other reasons. Fortunately, relief is possible. Before or alongside professional treatment, the experts recommend certain jaw exercises to strengthen and relax the muscle. We have listed the top 5 exercises below &#8212; keep reading to find out how you can get relief from a clicking, popping, aching jaw.<\/span>\n\n<!--more-->\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#1: Use Some Resistance<\/span><\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between bouts of pain, try putting in some work to strengthen your TMJ muscles. NOTE: doing them when you\u2019re experiencing discomfort won\u2019t help, so stick to those times between. <\/span>\n<ul>\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, place your thumb on the bottom of your chin and press up using moderate force. Open and close your mouth up to 10 times. You may notice small popping or clicking &#8212; stop if the movement is painful. <\/span><\/li>\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using equal force, put your thumb on the front of your chin and press backward, moving it like you\u2019re opening and closing a drawer. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#2: Open Wide<\/span><\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, simple stretching can be good for an aching TMJ. Pressing up on the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue, open your mouth as wide as you can. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds, release, and repeat. <\/span>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#3: Bite Down on Something<\/span><\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may sound strange, but a pencil could help you find relief from jaw pain. Place the pencil (or other long, small object) between your teeth and gently bite down, sliding your lower jaw forward and backward so the object moves from back to forward. Repeat several times for relief. <\/span>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#4: Breathe In Deep<\/span><\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If stress is causing you to clench your jaw or grind your teeth, doing some stress-relieving exercises may provide significant help. Whenever you notice yourself holding tension in your jaw during the day, take some time to breathe. It\u2019s simple &#8212; just close your eyes and inhale slowly, taking in a big, deep breath. When you can\u2019t breathe in anymore, stop for a second before exhaling just as slowly. Repeat as many times as you need to relax. <\/span>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#5: Release Tension<\/span><\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TMJ pain is likely to cause or occur alongside nighttime teeth grinding, or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/bruxism\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20356095\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bruxism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Releasing tension in your body and jaw at night can help to reduce the incidence of teeth grinding and jaw clenching. Place a warm compress on your TMJ to soothe it at night. When you lie down to go to sleep, first lie on your back. Close your eyes and check in with\/visualize each body part, beginning with the crown of your head and going all the way down to the bottom of your feet. You can also tense and release each muscle, starting with your feet and continuing upwards. <\/span>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bonus Tip: Contact Your Oral Surgeon<\/span><\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve tried exercises for a painful jaw on your own without any success, it may be time to visit a professional for TMJ treatment. The team at Piney Point Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery provides expert relief for jaw pain in our state-of-the-art office. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/request-a-consultation.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schedule an appointment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> today! <\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chronic jaw pain is uncomfortable at best and debilitating at worst. Your TMJ (temporomandibular joint) may ache due to misaligned teeth, facial trauma, or for many other reasons. Fortunately, relief is possible. Before or alongside professional treatment, the experts recommend certain jaw exercises to strengthen and relax the muscle. We have listed the top 5 exercises below &#8212; keep reading to find out how you can get relief from a clicking, popping, aching jaw. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/jaw-exercises-for-tmj-pain\/\">(Read More)<\/a>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other-topics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=994"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1694,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions\/1694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pineypointoms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}