What Is Intra-Oral Massage? How Will It Help Your TMJD?
Will TMJ Massage be beneficial for your jaw or neck pain, aching, or clicking? How will you know?
Strive Holistic has been offering TMJD massage for awhile (we offer an advanced technique for jaw pain, called intra-oral massage), and it’s time we bring awareness to it. What is TMJD and intra-oral massage, how is it likely presenting in your body and how can this small downtown Edmonton massage practice help you achieve pain free jaw movement?
Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ) results from inflamed and painful chewing muscles around the jaw. The condition can be temporary or chronic, with most people experiencing it once in a while after too much chewing. For others, it might be chronic, and the cause for this can be stress fractures, tooth grinding, or teeth clenching (even in your sleep!). TMJ disorder can be often painful and uncomfortable; many clients don’t even know they have it.
Some of the signs that you have TMJ disorder include:
• Pain when chewing, swallowing and speaking
• Clicking or cracking of the jaw
• Frequent headaches
• Pain and tenderness at the temporomandibular joint
• Pain in the neck and shoulders
• Restricted movement when opening or closing the mouth
• Dizziness
Luckily, TMJ massage is an effective way to deal with pain. We’ll help you with self-help tips for TMJ pain - and encourage you to get a professional assessment with us in downtown Edmonton.
Trigger Points for TMJ Disorder
One of the important muscles that help with balancing the jaw during chewing is the masseter muscle. This jaw is located above and below your cheekbone and has trigger points that can cause TMJD. That’s why your massage therapist might work on this area during a therapy session. The trigger points here relieve headaches, ear aches and tooth aches.
Neck muscles, such as the suboccipital muscle group and the sternocleidomastoid, also hold TMJ trigger points. The temporal muscles and especially the attachment points of the SCM, located in front of the ears and with the SCM attaching behind the ears, also have trigger points and massaging them relieves headaches. Finally, massaging the upper trapezius, a group of muscles on the neck, upper back and shoulders, can be helpful since they are also associated with TMJD.
So What Is Intra-Oral Massage?
The muscles named above are ones that can be reached extra-orally, by many massage therapists, meaning - outside of the mouth cavity. But there are many other tiny muscles that can only be reached via intra-oral massage, which takes advanced certification and is offered at Strive Holistic. Intra-oral massage is when the practitioner wears a latex gloves and inserts into your mouth with your jaw slightly lax, and presses gently onto the insertion points of these tiny muscles that can only be reached from inside the mouth. It’s very effective, but you’ll have to try to feel it yourself!
How Does Massage Relieve TMJD?
This research shows that physical therapy, including massage, is highly beneficial in treating TMJD. Your body works as a whole, so other areas could be contributing to the pain. Therefore, your massage therapist might focus on your scalp, shoulders and neck.
Massaging the trigger points can relieve pain and eliminate all sensations of tingling, itching or twitching. Kneading massage is one of the best techniques to alleviate TMJ pain between your professional sessions. You use your palms to give a constant, circular motion against your joints. Press the soft part of your palm onto the upper corner of the jaw. Start pressing slowly and lightly, then increase the pressure gradually. As you do this, slowly open and close your jaw.
Get a Professional TMJ Massage at Strive Holistic!
Although you can perform a self-massage at home, it’s not as effective as an intra-oral massage therapy treatment and you could end up doing more harm than good. So, for effective and more importantly, safe results, it's best you visit a professional who is experienced in giving an experienced treatment. Apart from the expert massage your jaw has been craving and you didn’t know you needed, we invite you to enjoy free use of the Evolve steam room and complimentary 2-hour parking.
Located in Evolve Strength, Downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Strive Holistic aims to provide high-quality TMJ massage therapy that will leave you unwound and feeling healthy.
So, if you’re looking for a downtown Edmonton massage therapist, visit Strive Holistic and book your session here to speak with us and receive an amazing treatment today!
