Have you recently been finding it difficult to open your mouth? Have you been noticing pain and discomfort every time you move your jaw? You may be experiencing temporomandibular disorder, also known as TMD, which is the TMJ dysfunction.

TMD disorders affect 25% to 30% of the population and are more prevalent in women than men. The exact cause is unknown, but factors such as clenching or grinding your teeth (bruxism), arthritis, injury to the jaw, misaligned teeth or genetics have been connected to these disorders.

The jaw is a significant synchromesh joint that permits your jaw to move and works in harmony with your muscles to open, close, and move the jaw from side to side. Your TMJ also protects your jawbones from injury by acting as a shock absorber.

This article aims to help explain what TMD/TMJ pain is, the treatment options to help relieve pain and exercises for pain relief.

What’s The Difference Between TMJ And TMD?

Let us start by clearing up an unfortunately widespread misconception that TMJ and TMD are not the same things. TMJ is the anglicized term for the temporomandibular joint, the little, delicate joint that connects your jaw to your skull.

TMD stands for temporomandibular joint disorder. This term refers to a number of issues that may affect the function of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). TMJ is the temporomandibular joint, while TMD refers to various conditions and issues that can affect the TMJ's function.

The TMJ is a small and delicate joint located right above your ears. It connects your jaw to your skull and allows you to open your mouth, chew, and speak. This small joint is usually susceptible to damage, inflammation, or irritation. And when this happens, it cannot function smoothly. You may experience problems chewing, speaking, or swallowing, and you may often experience discomfort or pain.

TMD is the identifying term used for disorders that can affect TMJ. The TMJ can be damaged by an injury or overuse (such as excessive tooth-grinding or night-time bruxism), infection, inflammation, or allergic reaction to an autoimmune disorder like arthritis.

TMD is usually characterized by symptoms including pain in the jaw and face, locking or clicking of the jaw when moving it, tenderness of the jaw muscles, muscle spasms, and difficulty chewing.

What Causes Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD)?

There are many possible causes of TMJ disorder; in some cases, the exact cause is unknown. Here we have a list of common causes associated with TMJ and experiencing pain:

Arthritis
Dislocation of the jaw
Grinding or clenching your teeth (bruxism)
Tooth misalignment
Jaw trauma
Mental stress
Opening your mouth too wide
Frequent chewing

In many cases, TMJ disorder can be a combination of these factors. Another cause of TMJ disorders could be genetic, hormonal, or environmental. Take, for example, a violinist; it is pretty standard for a violinist to suffer from TMJ as they spend many hours holding their instrument tucked tight under their chin/jaw, and this can cause strain, which can result in TMJ disorders.

Various indicators suggest that women are more prone to TMJ issues than men. Researchers are currently studying possible hormonal reasons behind this. TMJ disorders tend to increase significantly in women when their bodies start producing more of the hormone estrogen.

Possible causes of TMJ disorder, but all causes will circle back around to the jaw joint

What Are The Types Of TMD Symptoms?

The symptoms of TMD can range from damage to the jaw, ears, or other areas of the head. The following are potential symptoms that indicate a TMD disorder.

Jaw pain
Jaw noises (clicking, popping)
Earaches
Irregular ear popping
Sore jaw muscles
Headaches
Temple pain
Locked jaw (when open or closed)
Chewing pain

3 common symptoms disorders include

Pain: One of the most noticeable indications is pain that's felt with jaw movement. However, other symptoms may occur, including headaches or migraines, neck aches or backaches, and earaches or pain around the ears that are spread to the cheeks. If the pain is not near the jaw, a physician may commonly look for other symptoms before diagnosing a TMJ disorder.

Sounds: An often simple but painful symptom is an unusual popping, clicking, or grinding noise occurring while eating, speaking, or merely opening the mouth. Jaw noises are not just an indicator of TMJ disorders. It is only when the sounds occur together with pain or limited movement of the jaw that medical advice may be necessary. Ringing, buzzing, or numbness in the ears can occur along with earaches, and these symptoms can also be associated with TMJ disorders.

Restricted Movement: Limiting its range can restrict the particular direction the jaw can be moved in and cause severe discomfort in the typical course of everyday life.

Check to see if you have one or more of these symptoms of TMD

What Exercises Do We Suggest For TMD Pain?

These exercises relieve TMD symptoms as an effect of TMJ dysfunction. Sooner or later, these activities will result in a decrease in pain and improve jaw strength.

While performing startup activities, if the pain in your jaw becomes intolerable after or during workouts, it s wise to seek the advice of a dentist. For now, you may want to try these jaw exercises for TMJ pain relief.

1. Relaxed Jaw: Rest the tip of your tongue on the top of your tongue behind your upper front teeth. Allow your teeth to separate, and relax your jaw muscles that move your teeth forward. Maintain this position for 10 to 30 seconds.

2. Tongue Up Exercise: With your tongue touching the roof of your mouth, slowly open and close it.

3. Resisted Mouth Opening: Make sure your tongue is between your bottom teeth before pressing under your chin to open your jaw. Resist the muscle for 3-6 seconds as you open your mouth slowly.

4. Resisted Mouth Closing: Squeeze your chin with your thumb and forefinger with one hand. Close your mouth as you put gentle pressure on your chin. This will help you strengthen your muscles that help chew.

5. Goldfish Exercises: Keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Place one finger on your TMJ and another finger on your chin. Drop your lower jaw completely and back. For a variation on this exercise, place one finger on each TMJ as you completely drop your lower jaw and back. Do this exercise at least five times every day to complete one set. Wear a set six times daily.

6. Chin Tucks: With your shoulders back and your chest forward, pull your chin back toward the back of your throat. Hold it there for 3 seconds and repeat the movement ten times.

7. Lateral Jaw Movement: Place a one-inch object between your front teeth and slowly move your jaw from the side. The exercise becomes easier the thicker the object becomes, which can be stacked to optimize progress. Add more thickness, such as straw, to each side of the object.

8. Forward Jaw Movement: Similar to Lateral Jaw Movements, you will want to place a one-inch object between your teeth and, this time, slowly move your jaw forward so that your bottom teeth are in front of your top teeth. As you continue this exercise, you should find it will help relieve TMJ pain. You may increase the thickness of the object as it becomes easier.

Why not try home exercises to help relieve TMD symptoms

How Does Acupuncture Help TMJ?

Here at West End Wellness, our Acupuncturist will look to address jaw pain and TMJ disorder. Acupuncture can help relieve the muscles in the jaw, preventing muscle rigidity and reducing muscle spasms of the TMJ.

Acupuncture needles are inserted into the face, ear, and jaw. These TMJ trigger points can cause facial pain and headaches and restrict the range of motion in the jaw. Acupuncture needles may also be placed at the masseter, temporomandibular joint, lateral pterygoid, and medial pterygoid muscles.

Acupuncture relieves discomfort and eliminates pain by relaxing muscles and releasing endorphins (organic painkillers) and serotonin (the feel-good hormone that promotes well-being). Dental patients with TMJ received acupuncture for their pain, and the intensity found did help relieve the pain and discomfort of TMJ.

Manipulate the movement of the muscles that open and close the mouth by using facial acupressure points to stimulate the temporalis muscle. Releasing TMJ trigger points in the masseter, lateral-medial pterygoid, and temporalis muscles can help ease pain and improve the range of motion in the TMJ.

Acupuncture reduces tension and promotes relaxation. It helps to relax the jaw and face muscles, which can be provoked when you are stressed. It also helps regulate the production and release of hormones involved in the stress response (cortisol, noradrenaline, serotonin) to aid the body in coping with stress more effectively.

How Does Massage Therapy Help TMJ?

When it comes to a massage, no one needs to be asked twice. Everyone knows a massage is a fantastic method to address several health issues due to its relaxing and health benefits.

Regarding a TMJ massage, the focus would be mainly on the jaw, head, and neck (similar to CranioSacral Therapy). Still, it could also involve the shoulders, according to the session length and therapist.

A registered massage therapist's goal is to relax tension in the masseter muscle, which is found where your cheeks attach. Unsurprisingly, it is myofascial trigger point pain's number one conduit for myofascial pain, a common TMJ disorder. The treatment will assess a person's overall posture and neck and jaw mobility.

They will loosen any muscle tightness in your spine to improve the comfort of your neck and head. This will likely include work on the neck, head, face, cervical muscles, and cervical joints. Intraoral treatment may be performed.

The therapist has to wear protective gloves and spend some time inside the patient's mouth to ease the affected muscles. Cranio-sacral work can also be performed.

A massage is a fantastic method to address several health issues including TMJ

The Conclusion

Hopefully, you will have learnt something new about TMD and TMJ. It may at first be alarmed by the discomfort and pain, but TMJ disorders are not often too severe and should pass after a couple of months, with mild symptoms and more inconvenience.

However in some cases, TMJ disorders can be severe and lasting. When the condition makes life uncomfortable, treatment should be sought as soon as possible.

The temporomandibular joint syndrome can be uncomfortable and a nuisance, so it may help relieve the pain by giving the TMJ exercises a go; these stretching exercises can help, and pain may slowly subside.

But, it is crucial that if your pain does not seem to improve, seek professional advice from your dentist, who may suggest trying a holistic approach like Acupuncture or Massage Therapy. And we would strongly recommend you try these options before turning to over-the-counter painkillers.

If you have any further doubts or questions regarding this subject or another treatment, contact one of our experienced Acupuncturists or Registered Massage Therapists here at West End Wellness Clinic. You can either give us a call or make an appointment.

Disclaimer: Please remember this article is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Please consult a healthcare provider or someone with the correct qualifications before starting any new exercise or treatment program.