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HOW POSTURE CORRECTION EXERCISES IMPROVE TMJ SYMPTOMS.

Look at how you are sitting right now.

Would you say that you are exhibiting excellent or poor posture? While you might think poor posture just impacts how you look or your back, improving your posture can have an impact on other areas of your body, including your jaw. While it might be an uncommon thought that your posture can be connected to pain in your face, studies have shown it to be true. If you suffer from TMJ Syndrome, improving your posture can lead to much-needed pain relief. Various posture correction exercises can be practiced so you can feel a significant improvement in TMJ pain.

Posture Correction Exercises and TMJ:

When you have TMJ, you will experience several issues in your jaw area, including pain, grinding, and clicking, stiffness, and jaw locking. These symptoms can range from being an on again off again annoyance to a severe condition that significantly impacts your day to day actions, including eating, talking, and even sleeping.

There are numerous treatment options for TMJ, including pain medication, injections, surgery, and getting crown/bridgework. Still, postural retraining is a less invasive and less expensive method of helping ease your TMJ pain.

Postural retraining is the process of improving your posture through numerous posture correction exercises and activities. This can be done at home, with a massage therapist or at the chiropractor, depending on your preferences and the resources you have available.

At Attune Massage Therapy, we offer various postural retraining treatments to support you in improving your TMJ symptoms.

Why Does Postural Retraining Work?

Many TMJ patients also display postural distortion patterns, such as forward head posture. When these postural distortion patterns are present, they can impact the muscle activation of the jaw and contribute to an incorrect lower jaw position, which worsens TMJ symptoms.

An article in the Journal of Craniomandibular & Sleep Practice, according to the American Posture Institute, stated that “a combination of exercise and manual therapy, correction of body posture, and relaxation techniques significantly alleviates jaw pain, restricted movement, and impairment.”

So, focusing on TMJ itself isn’t enough. You want to correct your body posture through postural correction exercises to get the most pain-relieving benefits.

How Do I Improve Poor Posture?

There are various ways to improve your posture and, subsequently, your TMJ through massage therapy. The ultimate goal will be to release tension in your muscles, tendons, and fasciae while retraining your body to be in proper alignment. That might look different for everyone. Here is what you could expect when you visit a massage therapist.

Postural Assessment

After a TMJ assessment, you should get a postural assessment. This is when your therapist looks at the connection between your posture and your jaw to pinpoint potential areas of impact.

TMJ Assessment

To get an accurate idea of your TMJ severity, your massage therapist should perform an intraoral examination to assess your current state. Also, they should look inside your ear. Looking at these two areas will help your massage therapist to understand precisely where your joints are deviating and what problems you are having with your discs and muscles.

Are You Ready to Break the Connection Between Poor Posture and TMJ?

Wherever your TMJ falls on the spectrum between annoying and debilitating, we’re sure that you want to see an improvement.

If you’re willing to try postural correction exercises to experience improved TMJ symptoms, we invite you to book an appointment with Jana at Attune Massage Therapy.

TMJ treatment is one Jana’s specialties, and Attune Massage Therapy one of the only Richmond massage therapy practices that offers:

Postural retraining.

Extra and intra-oral soft tissue massage.

Various stress management techniques.

Joint mobilization of the neck and TMJ to improve joint mobility.

When You’re Ready for Relief, Jana Has You Covered!

Featured on Virginia This Morning:

Jana Powell recently sat down with Jessica Noll from Virginia This Morning to talk about TMD.

Schedule Your First Appointment Today!

Want to get rid of TMJ pain once and for all?

Are you looking for a long-term solution to TMJ issues or jaw pain? A TMJ massage at Attune Massage Therapy can help you alleviate TMJ and TMD symptoms with customized treatment options, education, and more.

In addition to teaching you different TMJ exercises, Jana can also help you get same-day relief from TMJ symptoms!

If you are in the Richmond area, you can schedule your first TMJ session with Jana today!

For more information about Pediatric TMJ Massages, please visit: Pediatric TMJ.

This article should be used for educational purposes only (not advice, diagnosis, or treatment).

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