A Guide to Face Yoga for TMJ Relief: Stretches and Exercises

TMJ Disorders: An Overview

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research claimed data that around 11-12 million adults in the United States had pain in the temporomandibular joint region. Another fact that you must know is that TMJ disorders occur twice as common in women as in men, especially between the age group of 35 and 44 years.

If you are curious about these disorders and their cause, here is more information.

The classes of TMJ are -

• Disorders of the joint
• Disorders of the muscles that you use for chewing
• Headaches with TMJ

Research scholars have put forth different causes of TMJ disorders, yet nothing is conclusive.

• Continuous degeneration (just like other joint arthritis)
• Injury to the jaw
• Teeth grinding (bruxism)
• Autoimmune diseases
• Dental surgery complications 
• infections

Even though dental braces and surgeries have not much evidence to have caused TMJ disorders, an added effect of genetic, physiological, lifestyle, and stress factors do come under the major causes of TMJ disorders.

How Does It Feel to Have TMJ Disorders: The Symptoms

If you have a popping or clicking sound when you chew or move your jaw joint, do not worry; it is normal. However, we cannot rule out that it won't lead to future wear and tear around the joint.

Some crucial symptoms of TMJ disorders that you must keep in mind are as follows:

• Pain in the chewing muscles.
• Pricking or aching type of pain in the joint itself.
• Aching pain near the ear.
• Locking of the joint and difficulty in opening the mouth.
• Pain on touching or pressing the joint.

Sometimes, these symptoms come and go within one to two days, and that is when you must start taking care of your TMJ joint, as this may lead to a chronic condition.

One of the preventive and curative measures you can take for your TMJ disorders is face yoga.

Read on to know what face yoga is and how it can help you.

The Benefits of Face Yoga for TMJ Relief

Face yoga consists of all the movements that involve the muscles, ligaments, and other structures in and around the face. The methods promote jaw relaxation and alleviate the symptoms of TMJ disorders. The benefits of face yoga for TMJ disorders are as follows:

Muscle Relaxation

By adopting face yoga exercises, you can release the tension around the face muscles, contributing to TMJ discomfort. Continuous stretching and toning of the muscles through face yoga reduces the pain of TMJ disorders.

Increased Blood Circulation

It's not new information that repeated movement of any area increases blood circulation. Yoga and face yoga do the same to your facial muscles. Face yoga stimulates blood circulation, reduces inflammation, and gives the nutrients for healing around the jaw joint.

Jaw Mobility and Flexibility

Face yoga involves movements that increase the TMJ flexibility and range of motion by stretching the ligaments and improving the fluid movement around the joint.

Stress Reduction

Touch your face, forehead, and cheeks with your palms. You get some comfort from it, a feeling of stress relief. If this simple technique can do so much, what about face yoga? Specific movements of face yoga help reduce stress and impact TMJ disorders.

Mind-Body Connection

Undoubtedly, yoga helps in the mind-body connection. Awareness of facial muscles, joints, and ligaments promotes conscious relaxation. This reduces unconscious clenching and grinding that may lead to TMJ disorders.

On the other hand, face yoga is the best non-invasive treatment that you can get for TMJ disorders. You can avoid the surgical procedures and medications involved in the conventional healing of TMJ disorders and take on this safe and accessible natural way to manage your symptoms.

Also, there is no harm in combining or integrating face yoga with other physical therapies, dental splints, etc.

Face Yoga Exercises for TMJ Symptoms Relief

Let us give you some face yoga exercises that you can practise for your TMJ disorder and pain.

These exercises target the facial muscles, promote relaxation in the cheeks, jaws and release tension in the neck and shoulders,

Go for regular practice, even for a few minutes a day.

Face Yoga Over Face Exercises?

Both face yoga and face exercises aim to relieve tension. Although face yoga has a broader scope, incorporating relaxation and muscle toning for overall facial health, face exercises for TMJ relief focus more on alleviating jaw-related discomfort. 

Additional Techniques for TMJ Relief

Face Yoga is not just it; you can add other techniques that help you enhance the functioning of the tissues and structures around your jaw and help in overall blood circulation around the joint.

External Jaw Massage

With the help of your fingers or knuckles, you can gently massage the jaw joint in circular motions.

Start in the form of the ear and move downwards gradually, slowly along the jawline. 

Pro Tip: You can add ayurvedic oils such as kumkumadi, neem, or other essential oils like lavender to avoid excessive pressure and friction. You can also use medicated ghee or butter.

• Ayurvedic medicated oils also help heal the inflammation and degeneration if there is any wear and tear around the joint.
   
• An ayurvedic practice of keeping oil or any medicated liquid inside the mouth for a stipulated time called "gandusha" and gargling called "kavala" with the same gives an additional plus point to your face yoga by strengthening the facial muscles.
   
• Shea Butter helps manage joint arthritis by reducing inflammation due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It also has an analgesic property that reduces the pain associated with muscle soreness.

Physical Therapy Techniques

Place a thumb or two fingers under your chin and press on the chin. While you do this, try to open your mouth gently against the resistance of your thumb. Hold for a few seconds, and then close your mouth. Repeat the cycle.

It would be best to do this exercise slowly without exerting overpressure.

Jaw Stretches

Slowly and gently tuck your chin onto your inner neck. Hold this way for a few seconds and relax. Repeat this stretch for a few times.

Avoid jerking or straining the neck.

Jaw Opening

You can place soft objects between your front teeth (two tongue thicknesses). Now, move your jaw side to side slowly. 

Pro Tip: Slowly increase the object's size as your stiffness releases and movement becomes more effortless.

Conclusion

Managing TMJ disorders requires multidisciplinary approaches under which a holistic one to manage the local cause and the psychological causes such as stress and lifestyle factors play an essential role.

Face yoga helps deal with local changes and heal your mind and body. The gentle movements stimulate an excellent amount of stress-releasing hormones and promote relaxation.

Try these face yoga techniques for your TMJ disorder symptoms and heal naturally. Before you start anything, consult our yoga experts for a personalised consultation.