6 relaxation techniques to reduce pain in your jaw
Pain, soreness, or tightness in the jaw is a brutal thing. They cause much discomfort and make regular oral activities such as chewing, swallowing, and even opening/closing moth a tedious thing. Stretching your jaw too much is the root cause of such problematic conditions in the jaw whereas numerous factors push everyone to stretch their jaw excessively.
Once the underlying cause is identified, you can get the right solution to get rid of the jaw pain. Until you visit your dentist, various relaxation techniques will provide you with short-term relief.
Here our dentists have explained some effective ways to relax your jaw muscles to get jaw pain relief for a short while.
What causes pain in your jaw?
The possible causes of jaw pain include:
- TMJ dysfunction
- Injuries
- Teeth grinding
- Oral infections
Luckily, they are treatable and you have some relaxation techniques to reduce pain associated with the jaw bone.
How can you relax your jaw to relieve pain?
1) Resisted mouth opening
This is a kind of jaw relaxation technique whereas it is recommended to strengthen the jaw bone and muscles around it. It involves
i. Place your thumb under the chin.
ii. Open your mouth slowly and push up the chin lightly with your thumb.
iii. Hold this position for 3 to 6 seconds.
iv. Close your mouth slowly.
2) Resisted mouth closing
i. Place your thumb between the lower lip and chin.
ii. Open your mouth slowly and push up the chin lightly with your thumb.
iii. Hold this position for 3 to 6 seconds.
iv. Close your mouth slowly.
3) Kneading Massage
In this jaw relaxation technique, you need to rub your jaw gently using your fingers in a small, circular motion. Then open your mouth as wide as possible and hold it for 10 seconds. Now close your mouth and repeat it 10 times.
4) Goldfish Exercise
Press your tongue gently against the palate. Now place one finger in front of the ear where the temporomandibular joint is located. Now, place the pointer finger of the other hand on the chin on the alternative side. Drop your jaw completely while keeping the fingers in the positions and close. Repeat it 6 times.
5) Breathe / Stress Release
This is the better strategy for a person who encounters jaw pain due to teeth grinding triggered by stress. You can do this while sitting or lying down. Inhale slowly and expand your stomach. Now exhale slowly and repeat it 5 to 10 times.
6) Hot and cold compress
Similar to injured oral tissues, the injured jaw bone and throbbing muscles around it can also be relaxed with hold and cold therapy. Applying a heating pad (hot therapy) or an ice pack (cold therapy) on your chins for 5 to 10 minutes at regular intervals throughout the day will provide you relief from painful sensations in the jaw.
Bottom line
Whatever the cause of your jaw pain, the relaxation techniques we discussed will help you to cope with the discomforts and get temporary relief until you visit your dentist. Besides these, simple activities like taking a deep breath, a warm bath, taking soft foods, drinking herbal teas also help you to get rid of the jaw pain for a short while.
