5 things to know about your jaw (+ how to know if it’s time for some TLC for your TMJ)

(1) First up - what’s the difference between your jaw and your TMJ?

Anatomically speaking the TMJ is the temporomandibular joint which is what we also call our jaw.

Confusingly (and lazily), when we see the term TMJ it could also be referring to TMJ disorder or dysfunction. 

(2) So what’s TMJ disorder?

The kind of symptoms we see in TMJ disorders include clicking or popping of the jaw, grinding or clenching of the teeth (bruxism), pain in the face, jaw, neck or shoulders, and/or headaches. 

Some people also feel pain in the jaw area when yawning, chewing and sometimes even when speaking.

(3) Want to check your own TMJ? Here’s how to find it.

You can feel your own TMJ working if you place a couple of fingers just in front of your ears and open and close your mouth. You’ll feel your lower jaw bone (called the mandible) drop and slide slightly forward when you open your mouth, and on its return it will hopefully fit snugly back into place in the skull (called the temporal bone). 

(4) Does your jaw click or stick sometimes? Here’s why.

There’s a disc that sits between the skull and lower jaw bone that helps keep the movement of the joint aligned and smooth. If this disc is displaced, there will likely be a clicking or popping in the joint as the disc makes its way into its correct position. 

It reminds me of a drawer hinge that fits into a runner to stay in place and to open and close smoothly.

(5) How can you know if your jaw needs some TLC?

So, everyone has 2 TMJs (jaw joints) and, depending on where you look, anywhere between 5 and 85% of people have some dysfunction of it in their lifetime.

Bruxism, clenching and grinding of the teeth

If you’ve ever woken up with an ache or fatigued feeling in the jaw and face, you could have been clenching or grinding your teeth through the night.  This can happen for a variety of reasons, one of them being a misalignment of the TMJ or tension in the special muscles related to opening and closing the mouth (called our masseter and pterygoid muscles).

Headaches in the temples or just above and behind the ears

It’s possible that there’s tension in your temporal muscle or tendon caused by a restriction in your jaw.

Jaw tension

If you run your fingers with some pressure just under your jaw line and feel bumpy areas of congestion or pain, there may be tension in the digastric muscles which we use to chew and when speaking.

All of these can be caused by or contribute to dysfunction in the TMJ. 

If you have persistent jaw pain or tension, or any of the above symptoms ‘The TMJ - Jaw Therapy’ sessions were designed just for you.

Want to know what happens in a TMJ jaw therapy session and the kind of results you can expect? Check out Part 2 of our TMJ blog series coming soon or read more info here.

If you’re not in pain and have a full range of motion in the TMJ it’s most likely that your body is functioning normally. You’re always welcome to come for a check and if we don’t find any issues we can simply give you a great face, neck and head massage.