By Dr Karli Plowright
(Family Wellness Chiropractor + Exercise Scientist)
Nomad Chiropractic Mosman)
Does your jaw feel tight?
Do you wake with a splitting headache from grinding your teeth?
Ever wondered why this happens?
It can be due to a number of reasons, commonly the biggest one is stress and anxiety related. We tend to hold a lot of stress in our jaw, which can lead to muscle tightness around the jaw and inside the mouth with the connecting muscles of the jaw and face.
Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, is also associated with stress and anxiety. This is when the lower jaw is tightened and moves sideways against the upper jaw. This most commonly happens at night time.
Some symptoms of bruxism include:
Waking with a headache
Pain in and around the jaw or sore face muscles early in the morning
Grinding noises when sleeping
Teeth/ dental changes - wearing of teeth
Jaw clenching is tightness in the jaw muscles causing the teeth to press together. This doesn't cause movement at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), although the most common symptom to report is a jaw ache. This is most commonly associated with work pressure, intense concentration or feeling stressed.
Some suggestions for reducing jaw tightness and pain from your Mosman Chiropractor Karli include:
Relaxing the jaw - rest your tongue behind your top front teeth and lower your bottom jaw so your teeth aren't touching.
Posture Correction - if you’ve got forward head posture i.e. hunched back and head sitting forward, then your TMJ / jaw, won’t sit perfectly in it’s sockets…
Chin tucks - bring your chin up and back to bring space into your neck and help with bringing the jaw back with posture.
Massage jaw muscles - in front and down from your ears you'll find a muscle (masseter). Clench the jaw to find it and then relax and gently massage the area in circular motions.
Get your jaw and neck assessed by your local Chiropractor - sometimes your pain is not stress related and it can be disc displacement (clicking in the jaw) or myofascial pain syndrome associated.
TMJ issues can also be related to gut issues (parasites)- so be sure to keep a naturopath/gut microbiome test on your list of things to check!
Questions? Get in touch!
Till next time,
Chiro Karli :)
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Book in online with your Mosman Chiropractors Lucy Bartlett, Olly Kerr, Kristin Webb and Sandy Ghobrial at www.nomadchiropractic.com.au
Located at: Suite 1, 563 Military Road Mosman NSW 2088 (Rear entry)
Ph 02 9969 7503
www.nomadchiropractic.com.au
For More Information head to: www.nomadchiropractic.com.au/chiro-research
*Please note: Karli Plowright is no longer a practitioner at Nomad Chiropractic in Mosman as she has relocated to WA in December 2022. All practitioners in the clinic are, however, educated in this field.