Clenching your teeth in front of the computer, grinding at night, headaches when you wake up… When stress sets in, the jaw takes on the damage without us realizing it. Many discover these tensions by feeling a painful lump in the cheek, fatigue when chewing, or crunching when opening their mouth.
On Vogue France, osteopath Charlotte Mernier, founder of My Osteo London, summarizes: “If you cannot escape the stress of everyday life and the vagaries of life, you can however limit their repercussions on your jaw with a very simple exercise routine.“. She also recalls that “theThe jaw makes around 10,000 movements per day, which explains why it can be subject to significant tension.. Enough to make you want to take better care of it.
Relax your jaw: why stress makes it work continuously
There jaw is articulated thanks to thetemporomandibular joint (TMJ) and four key muscles: masseter, temporalis, medial pterygoid and lateral pterygoid. “Chewing is enabled by 4 main muscles (masseter, temporalis, medial and lateral pterygoid); the following exercises focus on these muscles in order to obtain immediate relaxation and well-being. As a bonus, they help reduce headaches, tinnitus and neck tension.“, continues Charlotte Mernier. When these muscles become “stress muscles”, each annoyance results in reflex tightening.
In almost a third of adults, this tightness becomes almost permanent, or even transforms into
bruxism nocturnal, which affects approximately 8 to 10% of the population. The pressure exerted can then be 6 to 10 times greater than normal chewing and cause headaches, neck pain, fatigue upon waking up and even tinnitus. Relaxing your jaw is not just a comfort, it is also a way to relieve the entire upper body.
Relax your jaw: 5 exercises explained by the osteopath
First gesture, the “balloon”: place a finger in front of your mouth, inhale through your nose, inflate your cheeks then let out a fine stream of air, as if you were blowing up a balloon, three times in a row. Next, massage the temples in small circles, feeling the muscle contract as you clench your teeth. Same principle on the cheeks: locate the cheekbone, place your fingers just below on the soft part, then make circular movements for a few minutes, on each side.
To reach deeper areas, work the angle of the jaw: under the ear, locate the bony angle, place thumb or index finger inward and slide gently forward, letting the jaw project a little. As soon as the area relaxes, you stop.
Last exercise, oral massage: with the opposite hand, thumb on the inside of the cheek, the other fingers on the outside, slide back and forth for about ten seconds on each side, always gently.
Integrate these exercises into your daily life and know when to consult
For a real routine, the idea is to practice these exercises to relax your jaw morning and evening, in 5 minutes: “balloon” breathing then temples upon waking, cheeks, jaw angle and oral massage in the evening. Between two meetings, a very simple tip already helps to relax: physiotherapist Magali Bastos reminds Europe 1 that “you just need to stick your tongue out for a few seconds or let yourself yawn big” to start unlocking the area. Then, return to the resting position: lips closed, teeth separated, tongue placed against the roof of the mouth.
If the mouth does not open more than the space of three vertical fingers, if the jaw becomes blocked or deviates sharply, or if pain, headaches or tinnitus persist despite these actions, an opinion is required. An osteopath can work on muscular tension and posture, a dentist can check the occlusion and offer, if necessary, a splint in the event of severe bruxism. These five exercises remain a simple daily basis, to then be adapted with a professional if the symptoms last.