How TMJ Affects Headaches and Neck Pain & How Massage Therapy Can Help
“Grit your teeth and bear it” is a well-known expression. Unfortunately, many of us are actually doing this without knowing it. A common way to unconsciously cope with stress is by grinding our teeth or clenching our jaw.
What is TMJ and TMJ Disorder?
The TMJ is the joint on either side of the jaw that is responsible for this clenching and grinding, as well as, all jaw function and movement.
The TMJ is the most continuously used joint in the body. Repeated tension in the jaw and grinding of the teeth can create painful symptoms over time. It can cause tooth pain and damage, as well as, popping, clicking, and misalignment of the jaw. Headaches, facial tension, and neck pain can also develop as the result of jaw tension. These symptoms are often diagnosed as TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint Disorder.
TMJ Massage
Depending on the severity of the symptoms, a mouth guard is commonly prescribed as a treatment for TMJ Disorder (TMD). This TMD treatment helps to protect teeth from the damage grinding can cause during sleep, but it doesn’t have an affect on the tension, nor the symptoms it creates.
The good news is that there are other TMJ treatment options that can offer pain relief and reduce TMJ symptoms. Massage therapy and bodywork therapies can help relieve many physical symptoms. Massage of the neck, head, face, and the area around the ears can relax jaw tension. An even more interesting, yet effective, approach is to massage the chewing muscles from inside of the cheek while the therapist wears a glove.
This type of TMJ massage can offer tension and pain relief, as well as, reduce the automatic habit of teeth grinding and jaw clenching.
When TMJ Disorder is the result of issues with the structural alignment of the jaw, massage therapy can also be a welcome ally. Soft tissue work can assist the body in integrating the dental work and allow for a more successful result.
Neck Pain Relief & Tension Headache Treatment
Through my experience with clients, I have found that most people who have tension in their jaw don’t even know it. They know that they have chronic neck pain or tension headaches, but they don’t know what’s causing the pain. When clients come in for massage therapy for neck pain or headache, I have often found that releasing the muscles of the jaw can actually be the key to addressing these symptoms.
Treating TMJ Disorder, as well as, neck pain and headaches with massage therapy or bodywork has many benefits. It helps to reduce physical pain and tension, it is wonderfully soothing and relaxing, and it can help to address the root cause of clenching in the first place by diminishing overall stress.
 
You don’t have to “grit your teeth and bear it!” If you suffer from facial or jaw tension, headaches, or neck pain, consider massage therapy or bodywork.
Click here to learn more about my services and to schedule a session.
Stephanie Shrum is a licensed Massage Therapist and Bodyworker in Ashland, Oregon.
Jesika Mery
May 24, 2013 at 8:03 amIf your jaw pain does not resolve with more-conservative treatments and if it appears to be caused by a structural problem within the joint, your doctor or dentist may suggest surgery to repair or replace the joint. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research considers TMJ surgery to be controversial and recommends that it be avoided whenever possible.
Grinding or clenching the teeth, which puts a lot of pressure on the TMJ.
So be careful. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
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Stephanie
May 24, 2013 at 5:20 pmThanks for you input Jesika. I have never known of any patient to seek surgery to help with TMJ, and I agree that any person should proceed with caution and get several opinions before considering something anything that drastic.
mat
June 12, 2013 at 5:42 amVery cool, my chiropractor had to use this technique on me when my jaw was really messed up. I found that keeping the neck in alignment is a big help preventing and fixing a issue as well.