What to Do About TMJ Trouble?

There’s a clicking in the background. It’s not the pen of your co-worker, it’s not the tapping of someone’s keyboard, it’s not even the clock counting down the end of your day. 

Surprise! It’s your jaw.

TMJ Disorders can also manifest themselves in teeth grinding or clenching (bruxism), aching around your ear, headaches, tenderness of your jaw, or difficulty opening your mouth or chewing. 

Those symptoms sound like they could come from a lot of different things. In fact, because it’s so connected to the mouth, a lot of people assume that dental surgery is the only way to correct TMJ. 

Is that true? 

Let’s break down what TMJ is and how you can find relief!

What are TMJ disorders? 

First, what does TMJ stand for? 

Even though people say they “have TMJ” technically, EVERYONE has TMJ. ‘

This is an acronym for the: Temporomandibular Joint. 

Where is that? Touch the apple of your cheek and move your hand back til you touch where your ear starts. That’s generally where you’ll find this joint. 

If we break it down further the name is pretty straightforward. A joint in the body is where two bones meet. The two bones in question here are the Temporal Bone (part of your skull above your ear) and the Mandible (your jaw). 

Put that all together and you get the place where the temporal and mandible join: Voila! The Temporomandibular Joint! 

This joint is very complex in what it can do. It can slide back and forth, move up and down and sideways. We probably don’t think too much about the things it does either. Yawning, chewing, and talking seem pretty mundane until the joint stops working properly. 

The disorder part is where things get tricky. 

Between these two bones is the articular disc. Usually, this disc is a shock absorber (think that little cushion in your sneaker). It keeps things running smoothly. Depending on how it becomes misaligned, it can cause clicking, pain, or locking of the jaw. 

But what causes the disc to become misaligned?

What causes TMJ disorders? 

There was someone I knew that said he “had TMJ - Too Many Jerks!” 

He wasn’t so far off. TMJ disorders can be caused by stress (like annoying people in your life.)

Here are a couple common factors: 

• Arthritis in the disc

• Poor posture especially in the neck/upper back

• Trauma to the area (ie. a car accident) 

• Excessive clenching of teeth (for a different reason)

The specifics: 

That little disc also has plenty of nerves in it, so when it gets compressed improperly in the joint, it’s going to hurt in a lot of weird ways and do some funky things. 

Clicking: The articular disc is out of place, likely moved before the condyle [or rounded end part of a bone] of your jaw. When your mouth opens and closes your jaw moves there’s a squeezing of the disc. That movement along the disc causes that clicking or popping noise you might hear, like flicking a rubber band.

Locking: Sometimes the condyle will be out of place and it won’t slide across the disc or even squeeze it. This causes the mouth to have a reduced opening or “lock up” on and off. Basically the articulated disc blocks the condyle from moving properly.

What can you do about it?

You may be surprised to learn that Massage Therapy can really help! 

Remember: Everything’s connected! 

There’s a reason “poor posture” is listed among the causes for TMJ, tension in the muscles in your shoulders and your neck can easily affect the muscles in your face and jaw. 

How can massage help? 

Not only does TMJ massage address those tighter muscles in your neck and the hard working muscles in your face, it also goes inside the mouth to carefully address the harder to reach muscles that connect this joint. 

Admittedly, this will be a little strange, but your therapist, who will be wearing gloves, will guide you through breathing to make sure you can be as comfortable as possible.

Starting with the side of your jaw that is less distressed, they will move slowly back to the joint area to release tension. When they’ve become established there, they will also roll the muscles in the side of your cheek to loosen things further. After that they repeat the process on the side that is giving you the most trouble. You’ll feel a difference in how your body responds to the treatment as this side will be more tense. 

Once they’ve completed this inner portion of the massage, there are several points on the face that are addressed like the area outside of your jaw, your cheeks, your temples, your eyebrows and your ears. There are portions of your skull that are worked on, especially by that temporal bone we mentioned earlier. 

Finally, they can move on to tension in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (or SCM), one of the largest muscles in your neck that helps rotate and flex that area. This muscle is anchored by the temporal bone, so working on it can make a difference in the tension of your TMJ. 

Everyone’s circumstances are different, but depending on the severity of your TMJ you might feel better after one session or you may want to schedule a minimum of 3 to really start to recover. 

Ready for some relief? You can book your appointment under one of our Kinetric Customized Massages. Not sure what you need? Reach out! We’re always ready to talk to you about your specific situation and guide you to a treatment that might be best for you (even if it’s not with us.)