A comprehensive guide to treating a stiff jaw at home, covering jaw joint mobilization techniques and detailed self-massage/stretching methods for the masseter, temporalis and medial pterygoid muscles.
Welcome to the first aid guide for the stiff jaw. I'm Janne Säkkinen, OMT & occupational physiotherapist, specialized in TMD issues. When dealing with the stiff jaw, there are important underlying factors that need to be understood. Once these factors are understood, you can easily manage your own stiff jaw.
For this reason, I have created a comprehensive online course that will help you learn how to treat your stiff jaw effectively and safely without expensive treatment visits. If you want to observe the mouth opening movement as you progress through the course, here's how you can do it. Place an ice cream stick between the lower teeth. Open your mouth as wide as you can and mark the point of the lower edge of your upper teeth when your mouth opens too.
This measurement will be tracked in millimeters. When considering the jaw joint and anatomy, the base of the jaw connects to the disc, and on the other side, the disc is the socket structures of the skull. The disc helps balance the movement between the base of the jaw and the skull structures. When thinking about the mouth opening movement, we should recognize two different possibilities, hard end feel and soft end feel.
This distinction tells whether the challenge is more joint-related or muscle-related. If you open your mouth, keep your upper teeth stationary with the fingers of the one hand and lightly pump your jaw with the fingers of the other hand. If the whole head tends to nod due to the movement, then you have a hard end feeling, indicating a joint-related issue. If the end feel is elastic or soft, then the challenge is more muscle-related.
Let's start with mobilizing the stiff jaw joint. When the mouth begins to open, the first thing what should happen is a slight forward rotation of the base of the jaw joint, followed by gentle glide forwards and downwards. If this rotation cannot occur, the joint is in trouble and movement needs to be facilitated with manual therapy. Initially, the easiest way to treat stiff jaw joint is to create a light pull between the joint surfaces.
From outside of the mouth, you can relax the jaw, place your fingers under the cheekbone and gently pull your fingers towards the middle line of the face and downwards at the same time. This will allow you to easily create gentle traction from outside of the mouth. If you want to perform the movement on both sides of the joints, slightly open your mouth, press your tongue against the upper front teeth, lightly squeeze the muscle bodies with your fingers and then start pulling the bone straight downwards. If and when your thumb can fit between the back teeth, you can perform traction of the joint from inside of the mouth.
Place the tip of the thumb just behind your back teeth, grip the jaw like a handle and if needed use the fingers of your other hand to sense the movement from front of the ear. Start by gently pumping jaw straight downwards. Apply slight pull and you should feel painless stretch sensation and pump the stretch for three to five seconds. Repeat the same movement also for the opposite side.
In the initial phase, when focusing purely on the mobilization, it's best to do the gentle mobilization before eating. Choose a good artist to play in the background and mobilize the joint both sides half of the duration of the song. This will make eating more pleasant as a jaw joint will be slightly relaxed. Once you have progressed from initial mobilization phase and your fingers comfortably fits between the back teeth, you can start mobilizing the jaw ventrally.
This means that the base of the jaw should glide slightly forward and downwards. When you place the thumb behind the back of the teeth, lightly bend tip of the thumb to get the good grip on entire lower jaw. Start the movement by slightly moving the jaw downwards and gently pull the jaw forward and downward at 45 degree angle. The fingers of the other hand can be placed in the front of the ear to sense the movement.
Apply slight pull and you should feel pain-free stretch sensation and pump the stretch for three to five seconds. Once the half of the song has been played, do the same exercise for the opposite side. Now that we have covered the joint-related aspect of the treating a stiff jaw, let's dwelve into treating the stiffness originating from the soft tissues. When considering the movement of closing the mouth, the main muscle involved a masseter temporalis and medial pitucoreoid.
The masseter, the outer tubing muscle, consists of two parts, the superficial and deep muscle bellies. This muscle is easily palpatable with the fingers in front of the ear, below the cheekbone. It extends from the cheekbone downwards to the lower edge of the jaw joint and it's typical rather firm package. Temporalis or temporal muscle is a large flat muscle what originates from the temporal bone area and descends under the cheekbone to the front corner of the jaw bone.
The only way to locate corner of the jaw bone. The only way to locate its front edge with the finger is when you open your mouth widely. Place your finger below the cheekbone and when you go downwards you will going to find this bony lump. The area around it is often very tender from the front, back and top.
The third jaw closing muscle is a medial pitucoreoid or inner wing muscle. This muscle originates inside from the mouth upper area and it descends to inside of our jaw bone. Attaching the same areas where the masseter or the outer tubing muscle attaches. If one were to choose among these three as a probable cause of the mouth movement restrictions it's often the wing muscle making its identification extremely important.
Next, we'll detail how to best identify the muscle structures what restricts the mouth opening at home, perform easy maintenance procedures for these muscle structures and how to stretch structures when necessary. When considering the structures of the outermost and underachieving muscle it runs slightly backwards, the thickness of the body is about three fingers width and it attach from under the cheekbone to lower edge of the jaw bone. As you lightly use the fingertips to locate the muscle you'll be under the cheekbone gently testing whether there's a pronounced tenderness in the muscle bodies, are you experiencing familiar symptoms and are there significant difference between the right and the left side. If you want to find the deep core of the tubing muscle try this, place the fingertip front of the ear another finger next to it.
When you feel the edge of the cheekbone above your finger you are getting really close to the right place. When you open up your mouth wide you should feel this completely new sensation under the finger and that's where the deep core of the tubing muscle is located. The temporals or temporal masseter or the outer muscle is located. The temporals or temporal muscle is partially large muscle located in the temporal region of the head.
The muscle fibers of this large muscle group converging it towards the anterior process of the jaw joint. To locate the anterior edge of the temporals muscle find the front edge of the cheekbone and move your fingers upwards towards the top of the skull. This area is core responsible for the front edge of the temporals muscle. To better identify the muscle fibers gently clench your teeth while palpating this area with your fingers.
This action makes the muscle easier to feel. Place your ring, middle and index finger together vertically and slide them downwards from the top. This motion allows you to feel the first third of the muscle. As you slide your fingers down try to keep them aligned and maintain consistent pressure against the muscle.
This technique will help you to find the most tender spots in the muscle. Next move your fingers further back from the initial point and slide the fingers downwards again keeping them aligned and noting any significant difference in tension or tender spots. Repeat this sliding motion along the posterior parts of the muscle also. This through palpation helps you accurately identify the tender areas within the muscle fibers.
As the jaw joint begins to open fully during the mouth opening movement it becomes possible to palpate the structures around the anterior process of the jaw joint. When there is enough of space between the upper and lower teeth to fit two or two and a half fingers in height the anterior process has slide down enough to feel it anterior, upper and posterior areas of this structure for any tenderness. The medial pedicure is really interesting muscle. As the range of the motion starts to increases it becomes easier to maintain and treat this muscle.
However if there is a significant restriction alternative methods for treatment must be found. The part of the muscle runs parallel to superficial muscle and it attach the inner side the angle of the jaw. Another portion of the muscles runs obliquely backwards and downwards from behind from the upper molars to the same attachment point to the inner side of the jaw. To palpate this area use the thumb on the same side as the muscle you are targeting.
Push your thumb reasonably deep towards the jaw joint. When you locate the back molars with the tip of your thumb move the cheek side of the tooth row and position your thumb that the nail is facing the teeth. Then gently move the charm on the side towards the midline of the nose to sense the muscle tension. Once the most problematic structures have been identified it's important to stretch and treat these areas to improve the functionality of the mouth opening.
Stretching and treatment guidelines. Select the music. Choose specific song for the stretching exercises and choose another song for treatment sessions. Timing of the maintenance.
Perform these routines before meals to facilitate easier eating with improved mouth opening. Principles of stretching and treatment. Avoid overly aggressive treatment as this can cause the muscle to tense up defensely rather than relax. Start gently and gradually increase the intensity to allow the tissues to adapt to new stimulation.
Key points. Begin with the mild intensity and slowly increase the force of your treatment to prevent immediate muscle contraction. Ensure that the muscles do not react defensely is crucial for effective stretching and treatment. Begin with mild intensity and slowly increase the force of the treatment to prevent immediate muscle contraction.
Ensure that the muscles do not react defensely is crucial for the effective stretching and treatment. By following these guidelines you can progressively improve the function of the jaw and reduce the discomfort during activities like eating. Let's start with the stretching. To easily stretch the outer jaw muscle symmetrically you can follow these steps.
Hand placement. Hook your fingers and place them on your lower teeth. Place your tongue against the root of the mouth just behind your upper front teeth. Allow your jaw to hang down with the weight of the hand.
Simultaneously tilt your head backwards. In this position the weight of the head is moving backwards. Acts as a counterbalance to weight of the hand holding the jaw in place. Slowly inhale through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth or nose.
Perform pain-free stretches and gradually increase the range of the motion. By following these steps you can effectively stretch the outer jaw muscles promoting better relaxation and relaxation. If you want to increase the stretch of the resistance, gently slide your jaw forward before starting the backward tilting. If you want to do the stretch asymmetrically, place the tip of the fingers deeply to your lower teeth.
Keep the jaw in place. Perform gentle backward head tilt and then tilt your head to the opposite side. How to stretch the temporalis muscle. To stretch the temporalis muscle you need to stretch the temporalis muscle.
There is a slight groove in the muscle area where the base of our palms can fit perfectly. Once you identified which third of the muscle is most tender, place your palms on that specific area of the muscle. Gently press inwards with the base of the palms and then start moving your hands upwards towards the ceiling. If you want to increase the stretch resistance slightly you can gently open your mouth or sometimes use the joint below your knuckles.
This will give very intense stretch to the targeted area. How to stretch the medial pedicureus muscle. Let's use the right pedicureus muscle as an example. Its function is to bring the jaw closer to the midline of the nose.
To stretch these structures you need to gently slide the jaw away from the midline. Place your thumb and index finger together to form this kind of 90 degree angle. Position of this angle on the opposite side. Gently open your mouth and start pushing your jaw sideways in straight horizontal direction.
You can experiment with the different mouth opening angles to find the stretch what best feels for you. You should also try to see if you get the best stretch near the back corner of the jaw joint or further forward in the jaw area. Individual differences play huge role here so it's important to try different spots. If you want to gently stretch the structures while lying on your side use the small support like your hand or knuckles.
To stretch the right pedicureus muscle slightly rotate your head away from the surface, place the support underneath, gently open your mouth and start rotating your lower jaw against the support. Your head continues to rotation while your jaw remains fixed, creating gentle stretch in the medial pedicureus muscle. Now that we have covered the simple stretches for the various structures let's venture into the world of treatment. First let's address the outer jaw muscles.
Personally I like to guide the clients to place their elbow on the table. Perform gentle forward and lateral tilt of the head away from the treated muscle. After this the joint surface under the knuckles can be used effectively in this treatment. Depending on the sensitivities you can slide your fingers from the cheekbone towards the lower edge of the jaw or across the jawbone.
If the superficial structures in the front is the main tight spot, treat this area while keeping your face in neutral position. If in your case the deep muscle is the primary tight spot, hook your thumb inside the index finger, move towards one finger width from the front of the ear, place the sharp surface against the muscle and once you gently open your mouth you can start doing massage in that area. If you feel that your hands are getting tired during this treatment, find suitable firm and high pillow. Place lacrosse, massage or fascia ball under the muscle being treated and start gently moving your head.
Since the head typically weighs 8. 2% from our body mass, you can use this weight for the treatment, which can save your hands from the strain if they tend to get sore. For the temporalis muscle you can use similar techniques. Emplowing the joint under the knuckles or fingertips.
It's crucial to identify which third of the muscle is the most problematic and focus on the treatment on that specific area. If you have a difficulty generating enough force with the fingers and need simple treatment, pillow can be helped by adequately supporting the space under the cervical spine. As the functional opening of the mouth becomes easier, you can also treat the area around the knob of the jawbone with the ball. The treatments will progress very effectively.
As the functional opening of the mouth becomes easier, you can also treat the area around the front knob of the jawbone with the ball. That kind of treatment will progress very effectively. For the medial pedigreed muscle, treatment should start from outside from the jaw joint using the thumb. Support your head in a forward and lateral tilt to opposite side.
Use your bent thumb to access the groove inside the jawbone behind the corner. And slide your thumb back and forth along the upper and front sides of this corner. If you find these particularly tender spots, use circular motion in these areas. As the mouth range motion starts to increase, you can treat it also from inside the mouth, allowing you to access the upper part of the muscle by placing your thumb behind the upper teeth, turning the nail against the teeth and bending the tip of the thumb.
This allows you easily reach the upper parts of the pedigreous muscle easily. To treat the lower part of this muscle, use the opposite hand. Push your thumb against the inside of the jaw and move it behind your back teeth. Go downwards and aim the thumb tip at the structures at the lower part of the jaw joint corner.
Once you locate the muscle, gently circular motion is sufficient for the treatment. This area is very sensitive, so it may sometimes trigger gag reflex, so proceed with caution. If you experience severe resting pain following night after the treatment, it means that you have either treated or stretched the structures too aggressively. In these cases, wait until the resting pain subsides to the level it was before the starting of the treatment and then proceed more cautiously.
If the structures begin to soften and you can calm the worst areas with a few days of the treatment, check the range of motion and then reassess the overall situation to identify the most problematic areas at the same time. The goal is to treat only the worst spots and progress these with a systematic approach. In this approach, one or two songs should be enough for the maintenance before starting a meal. When you can fit three fingers vertically between your teeth, you can pat yourself to the back.
If you find yourself clenching your teeth during the day due to stress or other factors, it's important to recognize the situation and learn relaxation techniques for these kind of moments. If you clench your teeth tightly at night, the mouth quads are excellent way to relieve the muscle tension, provided they will going to fit your mouth very well. These challenges tend to come and go, but if you can take control of your symptoms and know what to do when they flare up, it's incredibly empowering. And that is the purpose of this entire course.
Once you have managed to fit three fingers vertically between your teeth for seven days in a row, you can stop the maintenance routines. If you feel that you need any additional information or if you find that the content was not demonstrated clearly or simply enough, please feel free to reach out. You can send email to me to this address. At this point, thank you very much for your time and see you at the next one.
A comprehensive guide to treating a stiff jaw at home, covering jaw joint mobilization techniques and detailed self-massage/stretching methods for the masseter, temporalis and medial pterygoid muscles.
The video demonstrates specific movement patterns and clinical exercise progressions: Welcome to the first aid guide for the stiff jaw. I'm Janne Säkkinen, OMT & occupational physiotherapist, specialized in TMD issues. When dealing with the stiff jaw, there are important underlying factors that need to be...
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Get instant access to Janne Sakkinen's official Google Drive folder with exercise guides and rehabilitation protocols.
Get Free PDF Guides (Google Drive)Medical Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is strictly for educational purposes and does not replace a clinical physical therapy evaluation, medical diagnosis, or individualized treatment plan.
