Temporomandibular Joint Exercises

The following temporomandibular joint (TMJ) exercises may help you relieve TMJ pain, improve the movement of your jaw joints, and help you open your mouth more easily. You can do these temporomandibular joint exercises at any convenient time to achieve good results. 1. Relaxed jaw exercise: rest your tongue gently on the top of your mouth behind your upper front teeth. Allow your teeth to come apart while relaxing your jaw muscles, remain your tongue in contact with the inside of your upper front teeth. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

2. Partial opening exercises: place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and one finger in front of your ear where your TMJ is located. Put your middle or pointer finger of another hand on your chin. Open your mouth (drop lower jaw) slightly (halfway of maximum mouth opening) then close. There should be a mild resistance while opening your mouth but not pain. A variation of this exercise is to place one finger on each TMJ as you open your mouth and close again. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

3. Full opening exercises: keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your upper front teeth, place one finger on your TMJ and another finger on your chin. Open your mouth completely then close. For a variation of this exercise, place one finger on each TMJ as you completely open your mouth. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

4. Backward jaw movement, or “double chin”: stand up straight with your shoulders back and chest up, pull your chin (lower jaw) straight back, creating a “double chin”. Hold for 3 seconds. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

5. Resisted opening of the mouth: place your thumb under your chin, open your mouth slowly, pushing your thumb gently against your chin for resistance. Hold for 3 to 6 seconds, and then close your mouth slowly. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

6. Resisted closing of the mouth: squeeze your chin with your index and thumb on one hand, close your mouth gently so fingers holding your chin place a mild pressure on your chin. This will help strengthen your muscles that help you chew. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

7. Tongue up: with your tongue touching the roof of your mouth behind your upper front teeth, slowly close and open your mouth. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

8. Side-to-side jaw movement: place an object about 1 cm in thickness, such as stacked tongue depressors or silicone teeth chewie, between your front teeth, and slowly move your jaw from side to side. As the exercise becomes easier, replace the thicker object between your teeth, or increase the thickness of the object by stacking one on top of each other when moving your jaw to the side. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

9. Forward jaw movement: place an object about 1 cm in thickness, such as stacked tongue depressors or silicone teeth chewie, between your front teeth, move your lower jaw forward so your bottom teeth are in front of your top teeth. As the exercise becomes easier, replace the thicker object between your teeth, or increase the thickness of the object by stacking one on top of each other when moving your jaw forward. Practice this exercise 6 times in a row, and try to do at least 6 times a day.

Temporomandibular Joint Exercises