Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. As your lower jaw pulls downward, your upper and lower teeth will fall apart.
“Then, let your teeth come apart and relax your lower jaw,” Patel says. Rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth, behind your upper teeth. Unexplained neck, shoulder pain or even back pain may be related to a TMJ disorder. The jaw muscles play a role in maintaining proper head posture and also connect to muscles in your neck that are involved in spinal alignment. When your jaw bone isn’t closing properly, the surrounding tissue can suffer from pain, swelling and chronic stress. Tension headaches occur in as much as 70% of people with TMJ disorders, according to a December 2020 study. Morning headaches can result from clenching or grinding your teeth at night, or from having misaligned teeth and an uneven bite, which places stress on the jaw.
Ear pain is a pretty common symptom, says Patel, who explains how nerves around the TMJ affect the nerves in and around the ear, and down the neck, so they can manifest pain anywhere in those general regions. With the central facial location of the joint, pain can easily spread across your face. Clicking, grating or popping sounds (possibly caused by injury) may emanate from your jaw as it moves. When your jaw is rigid and tight, you feel discomfort with every bite you take.
