Exercises patients in San Francisco, CA are trying to relieve neck pain associated with TMJ disorder

Are you experiencing neck pain? Did you know this could be due to something called TMJ disorder? Your temporomandibular joints, or TMJs, are what provide your jaw the ability to move and operate as it does. If your TMJs are placed under extra stress or pressure, they can become damaged or misaligned. This causes your jaw muscles to become overworked resulting in irritated nerves and discomfort and can be linked to pain in your neck. Dr. Jamil Alkhoury and his team at TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre of San Francisco have been providing neck and jaw pain treatment successfully for years to those in the San Francisco, CA area.

It’s important to get any neck or jaw pain diagnosed, but there are also several exercises you can perform from the comfort of your home until you are able to receive professional help. It’s a bit unclear how TMJ exercises can relieve pain, but it’s thought that these exercises:

• Strengthen the jaw muscles
• Stretch and relax the jaw
• Increase the mobility of the jaw
• Reduce any jaw clicking
• Promote jaw healing

Exercises for TMJ disorder relief

Here are some exercises you can perform from the comfort of wherever you may be (home, work, etc.):

Relaxed jaw exercise – Rest your tongue, gently, on the roof of your mouth and set behind your top front teeth and allow your teeth to open slowly as you relax your jaw muscles

Goldfish exercise – Rest your tongue at the roof of your moth and place a finger in front of your ear and your pointer or middle finger on your chin. Begin to drop your lower jaw halfway and then close again. Your finger on your chin should provide mild resistance.

Chin tucks – Pin your shoulders back and push your chest up and then pull your chin straight back (making a double chin), hold for 3-4 seconds and then release. Perform 10 times.

There are several more exercises available, but to properly treaFt TMJ disorder and any associated neck or jaw pain, you should reach out to a professional such as Dr. Jamil Alkhoury at TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre of San Francisco. To schedule an appointment, please call 415-226-7274.

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