A Short Massage Can Ease Pain & Relax Your Jaw!
Is your jaw painful or tight? Does your face ‘ache’? Often during times of stress we clench our jaw and or grind our teeth. Regular headache and migraine sufferers often are ‘grinders/ clenchers’. The reason being good old tension running between the back of the skull (the dint’s either side of your top vertebrae at the bottom of the skull) and the hinge of the jaw itself.
There are many ways to help reduce the pain/ tension. Before racing off to see your therapist it is worth trying a few quick techniques to ease it yourself…..
How To Release Your Jaw Pain
- Start by clenching your teeth then place your index, middle and ring fingers (of each hand) on each side of the jaws. Release and re-clench your teeth to check you are in the right place… you should feel the muscle move under your fingertips.
- Breathe in, and on the out breath press into the muscle at its highest point (just under the cheek bone arch, close to the ear) Press in gently with your middle and ring fingers then circle clockwise 5 times slowly. Work down along the muscle until you reach the end of the jaw. Repeat 3 times. Repeat whole sequence this time starting with anti-clockwise circles.
- Next, place your thumbs on the corner of your jaw (on the ‘hinge’), rest your fingers on your head.
- Take a deep breath in and open your mouth slightly . As you breathe out, press your thumbs gradually into your jaw and hold. Slowly release. Repeat as many times as necessary to feel ‘free’.
- Move your thumbs from the hinge of the jaw to the corners (as in Step 2). Work down the jaw by pressing into the muscle, holding for 5 seconds and releasing.
Breathing in a relaxed manner whilst applying massage helps the body release muscle tension .
For more about Jaw Pain and Problems CLICK HERE
Still have pain/ tension? TRY THIS
For appointments at Hale Clinic, Central London Call: 020 7631 0156
