TMJ Exercises

A lot of our patients ask us what can they do at home to help with their TMJ. We have compiled a few exercises that should help with your TMJ. If these cause more pain, do not continue, call our office for more information or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Farnad.

1.  Hold your tongue on the roof of your mouth and move your jaw slowly up and down. Try not to let your mouth move from side to side. You want to increase your jaw joint strength.

2.  Follow this link for some great exercises with images: http://www.wikihow.com/Cure-TMJ-with-Jaw-Exercises

3. The most important exercise is relaxation. We cannot stress this enough. In fact, we shouldn't stress, we should relax! Seriously, deep and slow breathing can really help you relax when you are experiencing TMJ pain. A lot of our patients who do yoga feel that their TMJ symptoms are helped. You can also try long walks and meditation.

4. Sleepy? Yawning may sound nice but support your chin when you feel the need to yawn. Guide your chin with your hand to relieve jaw joint pressure.

5. Avoid chewing gum. Some people think constantly moving the joint muscles will help. Instead, this can further damage and cause pain.

6. Heat the area with a warm towel. This can reduce pain and inflammation. If heat does not work, you can try the same thing with ice. Do not ice for longer than 15 minutes at a time.

Remember, a lot of these exercises work best for mild TMJ symptoms. If any of these worsen your symptoms or do not alleviate your pain we sincerely suggest seeing a specialist. Our Beverly Hills Office is here to support you in finding the correct TMJ treatment.

To schedule your consultation with Dr. Farnad, call (310)276-5300.

Have questions? The TMJ Doctor is happy to answer them, just email dr.fariborzfarnad@gmail.com

421 N. Rodeo Dr. #T8

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

(310)276-5300

www.thetmjdoctor.com

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TMJ Specialist for Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and surrounding areas

TMJ Home Remedies

We use our jaw for almost everything! You need to be able to talk, chew, yawn, and laugh with comfort and ease. Total relaxation of the jaw joint and surrounding muscles is difficult for patients with TMJ pain. Holding the jaw muscles and joints in a relaxed position is, however, very manageable with practice. Regular attempts to relax the jaw muscles, and avoidance of activities that would overwork the area, will be helpful to reduce the pain and prevent additional strain to the area.

Here are some tips and tricks to reducing your TMJ pain and symptoms:

1. Apply moist heat for 20 min 2-4 times each day to the painful area. You can microwave a wet towel for 1-2 minutes or until the towel is warm or you can wrap the moist towel around a hot water bottle to keep it warm longer. You can also try applying ice wrapped in a thin washcloth for 10 minutes 2-4 times per day. Only apply ice until you first feel some numbness. Do not ice for more than 15 minutes. Heat or ice can reduce joint or muscle pain and relax the muscles.

2. Eat softer food, avoid hard foods like french bread, bagels, and chips. Avoid very chewy foods, such as steak and candy. Cut fruit and steamed vegetables into small pieces and chew with your back teeth rather than biting with your front teeth. Please do not chew gum.

3. Your new mantra is: Tongue up and teeth apart. Your teeth should never touch (except lightly for swallowing). We suggest you closely monitor your jaw position during the day, while you're awake, so that you maintain your jaw in a relaxed,comfortable position. This involves placing the tongue lightly on the top of your mouth behind your upper teeth, allowing the teeth to come apart and relaxing the jaw muscles.

4. Avoid caffeine. We know it hurts to put that cup of coffee down, but your TMJ probably hurts more! Caffeine is a "muscle contractor"drug and can make your muscles tighter. Caffeine you should avoid includes coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate. Decaffeinated coffee has half as much caffeine as regular, so try switching until you can kick the habit. 

5. Chew your food on both sides at the same time to reduce strain on one side.

6. Avoid clenching your teeth, grinding your teeth (bruxism), teeth touching or resting teeth together, biting cheeks, tongue or lip, biting pens, pencils, or other objects, gum chewing, tongue pushing against the teeth, jaw tensing or other habits.

7. Avoid resting your jaw on your hand.

8. Try avoid opening your mouth for extended period of times, prolonged yawning and dental treatments, until the pain is reduced.

9. Avoid sleeping on your stomach since this puts adverse forces on the jaw and neck muscles.

10. Use anti-inflammatory and pain medications like Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and Asprin (without caffeine) to reduce joint and muscle pain.

11. Try yoga, meditation, or even acupuncture to reduce stress. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress and unwind. Just be careful when you are working out. Try not to grind your teeth, clench your jaw, and avoid sports/movement that could allow you to be hit in the face.

If these tips and tricks do not help in reducing TMJ/Jaw pain and symptoms then we recommend being treated by a TMJ specialist. Call our office at (310)276-5300 or call toll free (866)DOC-4TMJ and schedule your consultation. 

For more information about TMJ symptoms and jaw pain, visit www.thetmjdoctor.com, to learn more about Dr. Farnad, our office, and how we can help improve your life and reduce your TMJ pain.