Why are your cheekbones always tight?

home Clenched jaws have a strong impact on appearanceof a person - depending on the position of the jaws, the oval of the face changes, the nasolabial folds shift, and a second set appears. If symptoms associated with discomfort and even pain in maxillofacial area

, are permanent - this may indicate the presence of serious pathologies. The patient needs to seek help from specialists as soon as possible.

Why does tension appear in the jaw?

Pain when chewing food, yawning or grinding teeth during sleep can be associated with certain diseases (we recommend reading: grinding teeth in sleep: causes and treatment). Pain is a kind of signal from the body about the presence of pathology. An experienced doctor will be able to quickly identify the cause of the disease. Sometimes the patient simply does not notice a jaw spasm, but such a symptom cannot be ignored, because it can signal serious problems.

The jaw can cramp for various reasons, here are the main ones:
fracture of the jaw joint, leading to a defect in the bone structures;
osteomyelitis;
sarcoma;
sinusitis;
gum diseases (gingivitis, periodontitis);
malocclusion;
use of dentures and braces;
trigeminal neuralgia;
arthritis and arthrosis;

stress.

Common problems

Spasms in the jaw can be single or multiple. Women often experience a similar symptom during pregnancy. This condition can be short-term or last for a long time.

Usually a spasm occurs:
while yawning;
in the presence of a disease such as bruxism or osteochondrosis;
during nervous or muscle strain;

in the presence of oral diseases.

A person may experience discomfort on the right or left side of the jaw. Both children and adults are susceptible to spasms of the jaw muscles; sometimes this condition is associated with a previous injury. Why does the jaw cramp, what disease is this condition a symptom of? A highly qualified doctor will be able to answer this question when a patient goes to specialized medical institutions.

Sometimes a person feels his lower jaw cramping. This symptom may indicate the onset of an inflammatory process in the trigeminal nerve, which supplies innervation to the face. Pain may radiate to one or another part of the face. Sometimes toothaches occur. As a rule, the chewing apparatus reduces within 10-20 minutes, after which the pain goes away.

If such symptoms are intermittent, you should consult a doctor. The specialist must examine the patient for the presence or absence of malignant neoplasms in the maxillofacial area. Then appropriate treatment is prescribed.

Cramps when yawning

Muscle spasms can be caused by injury, and sometimes the injured area swells. You can cope with unpleasant sensations in the muscles with the help of cold compresses and special exercises.

Sometimes a cramp occurs against the background of constantly tense muscles, when a person eats solid food, which must be chewed for a long time and thoroughly. When yawning, individual muscle groups lose their tone, and when this process is completed, on the contrary, their hypertonicity appears.

The appearance of a headache

Headaches can occur for a number of reasons:

due to sedentary work;
when overworked;
due to spinal injuries or jaw bone fractures;
the pain may be due to a migraine.

Often such unpleasant symptoms appear in people working at a computer. Headaches can occur due to a lack of oxygen in a stuffy, unventilated room. You can cope with pain by applying cold compress to the head or by massaging it. If a person is tense for a long time, he should relax - a break from work will relieve tension and the pain will go away.

Ear congestion

If the ears are blocked, then a person should seek advice from an otolaryngologist. The doctor must rule out tonsillitis, inflammation of the larynx and tumor processes, the symptoms of which are similar to ear congestion due to trismus. Neuralgia also cannot be ruled out - it can lead to spasms.

If the whole issue is the tension of the masticatory apparatus, then you can cope with the problem if you refuse long telephone conversations, during which the apparatus is squeezed between the auricle and the shoulder. You need to get rid of the habit of constantly supporting your head with your hands; this position can also lead to spasms. You can get rid of the discomfort by applying heat or performing a light massage of the muscles under the ear.

Cramps in the jaw from nerves

Stress can cause dramatic changes in the human body. The muscles spasm, pain and discomfort appear in the jaw area. Sometimes there may be no nerve damage, but due to the resulting spasm, the muscles are in constant tension and cannot relax. In other cases, the symptoms may be completely different. The muscles are weak and there is no tone. Often, nervous overstrain leads to the fact that a person’s trismus manifests itself during sleep; mild sedatives will help to cope with this problem. Stress for the body does not go away without leaving a trace; the patient may experience cramps and pain. A person may experience anger uncontrollably and may be persecuted panic attacks. In such a situation, you cannot do without consulting a neurologist.

During or after meals

Often, people who eat hard foods can injure the jaw joint. Every time they eat, they experience spasms in the masticatory apparatus. If there is even a slight dislocation of the joint, eating will be accompanied by involuntary muscle contractions.

Sometimes eating certain foods leads to spasm of the esophagus, which is a provoking factor for tension in the jaw muscles. Difficulty swallowing food and impaired salivation also contribute to the manifestation of unpleasant symptoms.

Teeth grinding (bruxism)

Sometimes the manifestations of bruxism are invisible to the patient, nothing bothers him, but night grinding of teeth can lead to serious health problems. During bruxism, the teeth of the lower jaw often cramp in the morning; after waking up, the patient may experience headaches and discomfort in the jaw area. This disease leads to loosening of teeth and abrasion of enamel. If the patient does not pay attention to the symptoms of bruxism for a long time, then he may soon encounter new problem– dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint.

Due to deformation of the joint, a person can have both lower and upper jaws cramped (we recommend reading: the structure of the upper jaw, its differences from the lower jaw). The pain subsides when the masticatory apparatus is at rest.

How to treat?

Whenever during a spasm of the jaw muscles, it is necessary to pay attention to their localization and the nature of the course. The help of specialists will be required in the following cases:

The patient needs to relieve the jaws of the load: talk less, eat softer foods, do not yawn, opening the mouth too wide. Until the patient can be examined by a doctor, it is better to refrain from taking painkillers. The specialist must examine the patient and take an x-ray to identify a jaw injury or joint dislocation (we recommend reading: the jaw hurts on the left: possible causes of pain and ways to eliminate it).

Medicines

If the cramps that occur are associated with dental problems, then the doctor may prescribe antibiotics. As a rule, visiting a dentist helps get rid of trismus. If the joint is damaged due to the development of arthrosis or arthritis, the patient should start taking non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Jaw muscle tension is relieved with the help of muscle relaxants. They help reduce tone. Nervous disorders and stress are treated with sedatives that have a sedative and anticonvulsant effect. Helps relax muscles special exercises.

Physiotherapeutic procedures

With trismus, the main focus should be on relaxing the muscles. In addition to the use of medications, good results can be achieved by performing physiotherapeutic procedures. Relaxing massage and alternating cold and warm compresses reduce muscle tone, the pain subsides. Electrophoresis has a therapeutic effect, produces a calming effect and relieves spasms. With the help of UHF, heat is applied to tense chewing muscles, which leads to a decrease in pain.

Relaxation exercises

If the tension in the masticatory muscles is mild, the inflammatory process does not develop, and there are no injuries, then you can cope with the unpleasant sensations at home.

According to experts, to relax, it is better to use various meditation methods or do a light massage of the masticatory apparatus. Movements should be careful and smooth. By gently stroking and kneading the painful area, as well as performing special exercises, you will be able to quickly get rid of the spasm and return to your normal lifestyle.

Preventing spasms in the jaw muscles

To prevent the occurrence of such symptoms, you need to treat bad teeth in a timely manner and regularly visit the dentist’s office. If possible, avoid jaw injuries and stressful situations and take care of your mental health.

Often, dehydration can provoke a spasm of the masticatory apparatus, so you need to drink more, consuming at least 1.5 liters of fluid per day. By eating right and leading healthy image life, you can strengthen muscles and increase the body's immune strength.

When we express emotions, the resource prepared by the body is used in a timely manner and the muscles relax. But most often we do not know how to express anger or fear in a way that does not harm ourselves or people; we do not want to know about these feelings and the feelings of our loved ones, preferring to suppress them. The body cannot be deceived, and what we hide from others and from our own consciousness remains in it in the form of tension. This chronic tension of the body's muscles is called "muscle armor." Gradually it ceases to be noticed, and a person lives without even knowing about it.

The muscular shell quietly does its evil deed:

he spends a large amount of energy, which means that a person constantly experiences a lack of it;
tense muscles compress blood vessels, and in those places where the muscular shell is located, organ tissues constantly lack nutrients and oxygen carried by the blood, metabolism is disrupted, which, in turn, leads to weakening of organs and various diseases;
the human body becomes split.
A person charged with energy radiates vigor, he is less sensitive to climate changes, does not depend on weather conditions. A person who experiences an energy deficit necessarily reacts to rain, pressure changes, and changes in the length of daylight hours. It is known that people prone to depression feel worst in winter and early spring, when even strong body somewhat depleted.

Unproductive energy expenditure to maintain the muscular shell leads to the fact that a person unconsciously strives to save energy. To do this, he reduces his communication and fences himself off from the outside world.

Movement, posture, characteristic facial expression - all this is developed gradually as a result of the most commonly used combination of muscle tension and relaxation, which has become habitual. And all this expresses our basic life positions, thoughts, attitudes, expectations and beliefs, which, in turn, cause a very specific emotional state.

The following exercises help relax muscle tension and are quite easy to do on your own. However, they won't help if you only do them a few times. Make it a rule to do them daily and devote at least half an hour to them. Of course, you don't have to do everything at once. Do them several times first. Then set for yourself the sequence in which you will do them, and master them one by one. Later you will understand which activities give the greatest effect and are more necessary for you.

Let's start with the top ring of clamps that goes through the mouth and throat.

A clenched mouth blocks all transmission of feelings. But the mouth is the very first channel of communication. We kiss those to whom we want to express our tenderness and love.

When we forbid ourselves to feel longing for love, relying on sad experience that tells us that love can only bring pain and disappointment, this withholding of the natural human need is reflected in the clamping of the mouth area. The same thing happens when we forbid ourselves to express our feelings in words. A clenched mouth also leads to impaired communication, and all together leads to dissatisfaction with life.

To relax the blocks around the mouth, you need to systematically perform the following exercise.

Lie in the fetal position, that is, lying on your side, pull up your knees, fold your arms, crossing them over your chest. This pose is also referred to as “curling up.” Start making sucking movements with your lips. Do this for as long as possible - as long as your lips can suck. After this, relax and lie down a little longer.

Many people start crying while doing this exercise. This happens because a long-suppressed longing for affection and security rises and begins to emerge. Don't hold back under any circumstances. Crying with your whole body is beneficial. It helps relieve accumulated negative tension not only around the mouth, but throughout the body. Children always cry completely - from head to toe. And then they are taught to restrain themselves.

The ring of tension in the throat corresponds to an unconscious defense against the forced “swallowing” of something unpleasant from the outside. At the same time, this is an unconscious preservation of control over the feeling of fear, protection from those feelings and reactions that, in the opinion of a person, may be condemned and unacceptable to others.

Clenched jaws block any sound trying to break through. The vocal cords are also clamped with the same ring. The sound of the voice gives the impression that the person is speaking tensely; it is difficult for him to give the sound different intonations. Sometimes the voice becomes monotonous, sometimes hoarse or hoarse, and sometimes too high-pitched. This happens because the muscles involved in sound production become inactive.

A clenched lower jaw is equivalent to saying “they won’t pass.” It’s as if a person doesn’t want to let unwanted people in, but he also doesn’t want to let go of those who live in his soul. He is closed and cannot accept the changes that are inevitable in life.

When the body needs more energy, for example when it is tired or sleepy, the mouth should be opened wide for more full breath. This is why we yawn. When yawning, a ring of tension that involves the muscles that move the jaw is temporarily released, and this acts on the mouth, pharynx and throat, opening them wide to allow the required air to pass through. Therefore, to relax your jaws, you need to yawn.

Open your mouth wide and yawn. Do this morning, afternoon and evening.

Blocks in the jaws arise from a suppressed desire to bite, which on a psychological level means suppressing impulses of anger.

Take a moderately elastic and moderately soft ball. You can use dog toys specially designed for this purpose. You can take a rolled up towel. Bite with all your might. At the same time, growl, tear the toy out of your own teeth, but do not weaken your bite. Put all the rage, all the anger that has gathered in your soul into this process. When you get tired, relax your jaw. At this time, the lower jaw will drop and the mouth will be slightly open.

Here are two more ways to relieve tension in your lower jaw.

1. Lower your lower jaw. Press on the chewing muscles at the angle of the lower jaw. If the muscles are very tense, it can be painful. Regularly squeeze and squeeze these muscles, which helps to relax them.

2. Move your chin forward and hold it in this position for 30 seconds. Move your tense jaw to the right, left, keeping it extended forward. Then open your mouth as wide as possible and see if you can open it enough to fit the three middle fingers of your palm one above the other between your teeth.

You may feel anxious or increasingly angry while doing this exercise. This is good. Many people hesitate to unblock their emotions for fear of not being able to cope with the surging feelings. But it is precisely the release of feelings into special conditions(for example, when performing an exercise) makes this process safe and very useful. For many people, tension in the chin muscles does not allow them to open their mouth wide.

The jaws are energetically connected to the eyes. Tension in the lower jaw reduces the flow of energy to the eyes and reduces visual capabilities. The expression “dull eyes” has a literal meaning: lack nutrients, in particular due to blockages in the jaw, affects the cornea of the eye and it becomes less shiny. And in the opposite direction: chronically suppressed crying leads to tension in the jaw. This is why doing exercises to free yourself from clamps is often accompanied by crying.

Due to the pent-up desire to scream in pain and fear, blocks arise in vocal cords. Therefore, the best way to release the clamps in the throat is to scream loudly and for a long time.

If you have the opportunity to scream at the top of your lungs (for example, in the forest or in the country when there is no one nearby), scream. Scream about your suffering, your anger and disappointments. There is no need to pronounce words. Let it be a single sound coming out of your throat with force.

Often such a cry turns into sobbing. This is due to the unblocking of emotions and is very beneficial. Many people cannot afford to scream - conditions do not allow it, or the pressure is so strong that screaming is impossible. Then you can do the following exercise.

Place thumb right hand one centimeter below the angle of the lower jaw, and the middle finger in a similar position on the other side of the neck. Maintain this pressure continuously and start making sounds, first quietly and then increasing the volume. Try to maintain a high tone.

Then move your fingers to the middle of your neck and repeat the long middle tone. And then repeat the same thing, squeezing the muscles at the base of the neck, while making low sounds.

However, throat exercises alone cannot relieve all the blockages caused by holding in emotions. The next belt of muscle clamps is at chest level.

3. Chest and breathing

For many people, the chest does not move with breathing. And the breathing itself is shallow and frequent or shallow and uneven. There are delays in inhalation or exhalation. Alexander Lowen said that puffing out the chest is a form of defiance, defiance, as if the body is saying: “I will not allow you to come near me.” In other people, the chest is compressed and never fully expands. In the language of the body metaphor, this means: “I am depressed and cannot take from life what it offers me.”

Chest clamps cause breathing problems. And any difficulties in the breathing process also cause fear. When a person does not realize the true cause of fear, he becomes anxious and looks for this cause in the world around him.

To check if you have breathing problems, do the following exercise.

While sitting on a chair, say in your normal voice: “Ah-ah”, looking at the second hand of the clock. If you are unable to hold a sound for 20 seconds, it means you have breathing problems.

You can relax the muscle ring around your chest using breathing exercise. This method of breathing is named after Lowen, a psychotherapist who developed many different techniques of body-oriented therapy. There is a special chair for this type of breathing. But at home, you can perform Lowen breathing as described in the exercise. Experience has shown that this does not make it any less effective.

Lie across the sofa so that your feet without shoes are on the floor and your buttocks hang slightly. Place a cushion under your lower back (for example, you can tightly roll up a cotton blanket) so that your chest is maximized and your head and back are below your lower back. Place your hands above your head, palms up.

Start breathing deeply and rarely. You can’t breathe often, this will be a different breathing technique, which is performed only with an assistant, as there may be side effects. Breathe like this for 30 minutes. If you suddenly start crying, or sobbing all over, or laughing, don’t be confused. This is a good reaction, indicating the release of repressed emotions blocked in muscle clamps. When muscle tension relaxes, energy is released and tends to come out. That is why it is so important not to restrain the reactions that arise, but to allow them to flow freely. After all, if you hold them back, they will not respond again and will again form a muscle clamp. You may feel dizzy - lie still after doing the exercise until the dizziness goes away. At first, you may want to sleep after doing this exercise - fall asleep if possible, but only after completing the exercise. Your feelings or reactions may change. Tingling, twitching and other sensations may appear in the arms, legs, and back. You might feel like tapping your feet. In general, sensations and reactions can be very different. Don't resist them, just watch them.

Do this exercise every day for the duration of your self-therapy. After some time, you will feel the positive effects of this breathing technique.

4. Diaphragm and waist

The next ring of muscle clamps is located around the diaphragm and waist. This ring splits the human body into two halves.

The diaphragm is a muscle that is involved in breathing; it contracts whenever a person experiences fear. If fear becomes chronic, the diaphragm is under constant tension, creating breathing problems and causing a predisposition to experience fear. Thus a vicious circle arises. Fear gives rise to a clamped diaphragm, and a clamped diaphragm gives rise to anxiety.

The diaphragm is located above the waist, which connects chest with the stomach and pelvis. Muscle tightness in this area interferes with the flow of blood and senses to the genitals and legs, causing anxiety, which in turn leads to breathing problems. And then again the same vicious circle.

There is only one conclusion from all this: it is necessary to relax chronic tensions and release accumulated fear.

To check how tight or loose your waist is, do the following exercise.

Do this exercise while standing. Place your feet parallel, knees slightly bent, body weight slightly shifted forward. Raise your arms with elbows bent to shoulder height. The brushes hung freely. Turn your body as far as possible to the left and hold this position for about a minute. Then turn your body to the right and stay in this position for about a minute. Pay attention to the tension in the muscles of your back and waist. Are you able to inhale with your lower abdomen in this position?

If your breathing is disrupted and your muscles are too tense or you experience pain in them, then you have developed a muscular armor around the diaphragm and waist area.

To relieve chronic muscle tension in the waist area the best way is Lowen breathing, the technique of which you already know. In addition, it is useful to systematically perform the following exercises.

Lie on the floor on your back, arms at your sides, palms up, legs together. Bend your knees at an angle of 90°. Turn both legs first to the left, so that the lower (left) leg rests completely on the floor and the right leg rests on it; legs remain bent at the knees. Then turn your legs to the right in the same way. In this case, the back to the waist remains pressed to the floor. Repeat the exercise up to 10 times.
Now do the previous exercise, making it more difficult. When turning your legs, turn your head in the opposite direction. Also perform this exercise up to 10 times.
Get on all fours, knees at a 90° angle, keeping your arms straight. Bend your back down at the waist as far as possible, and then arch your back up as much as possible. Do up to 10 such movements.
Get on all fours as described in the previous exercise. Then slowly extend your straightened arms and body forward, sliding along the floor until they lie almost entirely on the floor. Your pose will resemble that of a stretching cat. Stay in this position for a while and slowly pull your arms back to the starting position. Do this exercise several times (as many times as you can handle).
Sit on the floor with your knees slightly bent and slightly apart. Place your palms on the back of your head. Bend your torso to the left, trying to get your elbow as close to the floor as possible (ideal if it touches the floor). Stay in this position for some time. Then slowly straighten up and repeat the same to the right side.
Although these exercises help to remove the tension around the waist, they are not enough to free you from the “accumulations” of fear impulses. Fear can only be released through the release of blocked anger. The work of unblocking the most stigmatized emotion in society, anger, is particularly troubling for many people. What if it bursts out in an uncontrollable stream? What if the consequences are many times worse than emotional suppression and depression?

In fact, it is the release of anger outside in special ways that makes it safe, since it no longer accumulates, but is discharged in a timely manner. The blocking belt of clamps around the waist disrupts the integrity of the processes occurring in the body, making it divided. The top and bottom parts seem to belong to two different people. Some top part The body is well developed, and the pelvis and legs are small, as if immature. Others have a full, round pelvis, but the upper half of the body is small and narrow. Or the top half may be hard and resilient, while the bottom half is soft and passive. This development of the body indicates an inconsistency between the “upper” and “lower” senses.

Increased muscle tone can be temporary or permanent. Hypertonicity is a persistent increase in muscle tone. Hypertonicity of the masticatory muscles is only a symptom of some more general problems of the body, so you need to deal with them, understand “where the legs grow from.”

Causes of hypertonicity of the masticatory muscles

As a rule, tension in the masticatory muscles is an expression of general mental stress. Remember the expression “gritting your teeth.” Endures, gritting his teeth or makes his way through obstacles, gritting his teeth, etc. And also: grinding, grinding his teeth out of anger or powerlessness.
The jaw clenches in situations involving the need to defend or compete.
But in case of psychological shock, confusion, experience of failure or loss, the muscles relax. In such cases they say: “the jaw dropped.”
Daily stress associated with work, business, family matters, etc. can cause hypertonicity of the masticatory muscles.
On the other hand: joy, smile and laughter, pleasure and love relieve tension by relaxing the jaw.

Changes in other parts of the body also provoke hypertonicity, most often this is a pathology of the cervicothoracic spine. Incorrect position of the vertebrae cervical spine breaks the symmetry of the face, the chin moves forward, which causes compensatory tension in the masticatory muscles. Malocclusion, treatment at the dentist, etc.

A temporary increase in tone may occur as a result of muscle fatigue during prolonged dynamic or static load. For example, after running or being in an uncomfortable position. Tension of the muscles of the eyes and neck during prolonged work at the computer also involves the masticatory muscles in this process. Prolonged and frequently repeated exercise can cause hypertension.

Treatment

The chewing muscles can be relaxed with medications. But there is little point in this, because... muscle relaxants do not eliminate reason hypertonicity, which will find a way out elsewhere. “We treat one thing and cripple another.” Botox injections make sense in severe cases where there is pain and tooth decay. Therefore, treatment must be comprehensive.

Elimination of the cause that caused the tension in the masticatory muscles.

First of all, remove obvious causes, for example, dental ones.
It is necessary to relieve general mental stress. Avoid chronic muscle fatigue.
Take breaks from computer work or other sedentary work every hour for 15 minutes.
Mandatory Physical Culture, least - morning exercises, mainly with flexibility exercises.
At the end of gymnastics or as a separate relaxation exercise - shavasana.

Local effect on muscles to relax them.

It is difficult to simply relax tense muscles, so you must first stretch them using a wooden wine bottle stopper.
The plug is inserted between the front teeth and held there for 10-20 minutes. Its height should be such that strained muscles there was no pain due to overexertion. If necessary, the plug can be shortened. As the chewing muscles relax, a larger plug can be inserted.

First, warm up your muscles by moving your lower jaw from side to side and back and forth for about a minute.
Take a comfortable position: lying on your back or sitting with your head slightly thrown back so that saliva does not flow out of your open mouth. Neck muscles and shoulder girdle try to relax too. Place the plug between your teeth.

Imaginative work. Catch the feeling of tension, feel it - what lies behind it, what deeper and more subtle feelings are there. What mood accompanies it? Perhaps it will be possible to understand * reason, connection with other bodily sensations or suppressed emotions. Acknowledge (accept) these sensations and the tension itself. Smile at them internally and notice how the tension melts and dissolves. The muscles relax and become soft and weightless.
* It is unlikely that you will be able to understand everything right away, but the process itself is important here.
Trace the relationship between the eye and masticatory muscles. How they tense up synchronously (it’s more convenient to do this with your eyes closed. Try to relax your eyes and temporal areas.

Do a light massage of the chewing muscles, especially where the muscles attach to the jaws. Massage techniques: stroking and tapping with fingertips along the muscles. The gentler the touch, the better the relaxation. But you can experiment, it is possible that stronger kneading can have a good effect. Just do it gently and carefully.

Stroke your face with your palms: forehead - from the center to the temples and down to the corner of the lower jaw, cheeks - from the nose to the ears. Use deep but gentle circular movements of your fingers to massage the muscles of the cervical spine. The general direction of movement is downward, from head to shoulders.

Periodically, you can remove the plug, maintaining and enhancing the feeling of lightness and relaxation in the masticatory muscles. (When you remove the cork, you will immediately feel this lightness and relaxation.)

You can, of course, do other things at this time. But still, efficiency will be higher if your attention is on what you are doing. By working with tension here, according to the feedback principle, you will also influence the cause. Even if the mind is not aware of it, the body knows.

It is useful to stretch the muscles of the neck and torso without removing the plug from your mouth. Head movements left and right and tilts from one shoulder to the other. For the body also: bends and turns to the sides. Remember: everything in our body is interconnected and we need to work on not only a narrow “problem” area.
Try, lying on your back, strongly stretch your chewing muscles by inserting a long plug between your teeth. If you relax your neck and quickly roll your head from side to side, you will notice how tension is released from your jaw.

Advice. In everyday life, try to notice: in what situations, during what actions, you involuntarily clench your teeth. Having noticed, relax, paying special attention to the chewing muscles.

Constant psycho-emotional stress leads to a reduction smooth muscle internal organs and narrowing of blood vessels. Therefore, it is important for health to be aware of oneself, to observe what is happening in the body and in the head. Thus, from working with a local problem comes an understanding of the causes of illnesses throughout the body and the search for a path to health.

In most people, you can see clenched and tense jaws, but their condition largely determines a person’s appearance. The condition of the nasolabial folds, the displacement of the oval line, the asymmetry of the face and the double chin depend on the position of the jaw.

Their position is also associated with dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system. A person who constantly clenches his jaw until he grinds his teeth receives a signal from the body that he is beginning to have health problems: arthritis and arthrosis are just around the corner, or the temporomandibular structure is already being destroyed. Therefore, the relaxation of the jaws must be constantly monitored.

How to check the condition of your jaws

The check is done during the day. First of all, you need to wash your hands. Place your palm vertically and try to insert it into your mouth. If at least four fingers enter the mouth, then the above problems are not expected, but if there are three fingers, then you need to monitor the condition of the jaw and try to find the reason for its overstrain. If even three fingers do not enter, then correction is required as the situation becomes serious.

If you notice that your jaw begins to clench while you sleep, start doing relaxation exercises in the morning.

The simplest is to perform circular movements at the junction of the jaws. So, we sit up straight, open our mouth slightly and feel the hole in the place where the upper and lower jaws meet, and place our fingers in it. Let's start doing circular movements clockwise, then counterclockwise. Massage gently, but with force. It is better not to put all your might on the jaw joint, as this may not only not help yourself, but also cause harm. If you feel a little pain in this place, then the problem is not far off. For some people, the pain is severe, which means the disease is already progressing.

There is another very simple, and also safe exercise. To relax your jaws, you need to put your fingers on the upper palate and try to close your mouth, but at the same time you need to resist yourself. Ten seconds are enough to complete it. Then take a break and after it stretch your mouth slightly and try to close it, while again counteracting with your fingers. There should be a feeling of weightlessness in the lower jaw.

You can lie down on the sofa and let your face completely relax, for this you need to not think about anything. After this, you can begin the exercise: tense and relax your jaw. This must be done several times. After the exercise, you need to rest to allow your jaw to recover.

Observe preventive measures as well. Make it a habit to pay attention to your jaw muscles for at least 20 minutes every day.

Ecology of Health: Movements that can be easily performed throughout the day to quickly and effectively release tension...

We offer some movement options that can be easily performed throughout the day to quickly and effectively relieve tension and spasms in individual parts of the body.

When performing any movement, try to first of all be aware of what you are doing. Avoid performing tasks mechanically.

Jaw: Unloading and releasing

1. Sit comfortably on a chair. Feet are in good contact with the floor, hands can be placed on the hips.

2. Pay attention to the face, especially the mouth and lower jaw.

How does your face feel? Is your mouth closed, are your lips closed? Are your teeth clenched? How is the tongue positioned?

Find excess tension and, if possible, free yourself from it.

3. Open your mouth just a little and immediately close it several times.

Does the lower jaw move straight down or deviate to the side? Does the head remain calm or does it also move?

4. Now place your finger on the end of your chin for better control and open your mouth again. Move your jaw from the bottom position to the right and return it to the middle position again. Repeat this several times.

Does the movement gradually become smoother?

5. Perform the same movement to the left.

How far does the jaw move in this direction? Is there a difference with moving to the right?

6. Take a short pause and observe the change in sensitivity after completing the movements.

7. Now move the lower jaw to the right and left. Again, use your finger as a sensor to compare the movements over time.

How easily, how far can the jaw move in both directions? How uniform is its movement?

8. Move your jaw forward from the middle position and then return it to its place. The attached finger remains.

Does the lower jaw actually move forward or deviate to the side?Do you wrinkle your nose at this? Aren't you frowning? Do you hold your breath or can you breathe calmly? Does the head move or remain calm?

9. Combine these movements. Move your jaw forward first, and then, once pushed forward, move it to the right, then to the left, to the right and to the left, and again to the right. If the movement still remains unclear to you, start performing it in front of a mirror.

10. Take another short pause and observe your face.

11. Again, slightly open your mouth and move your lower jaw forward, then to the right, then back and from the initial position to the left, finally, forward again and this complete the circular movement.

Do you feel the circle? If you want, you can check yourself in front of the mirror. Make sure it's really a circle.

12. Open and close your mouth a few more times.