As an executive mom juggling endless responsibilities, the last thing you need is persistent jaw pain, headaches, or ear discomfort disrupting your busy days. If you have been told that your TMJ pain (temporomandibular joint disorder) is just from grinding your teeth, you may not be getting the full story. TMJ pain often stems from a combination of hidden factors, far beyond just nighttime teeth grinding. Understanding these causes can help you finally find lasting relief. In this blog lets discuss what you might be overlooking.
Poor Posture and Neck Alignment:
When you spend long hours hunched over your laptop or phone, it’s not just your back and shoulders that suffer. Your head drifts forward in a forward head posture and strains the muscles that connect your neck, jaw, and skull.
What Happens:
- Increased tension in the jaw muscles.
- Misalignment of the TMJ due to poor head positioning.
- Triggering of pain that radiates into the face, head, and ears.
Small Shift:
- Practice mini posture resets: gentle chin nods and align your ears over your shoulders several times a day.
Watch this video to learn: Can fixing your posture reduce your jaw (TMJ) pain?
Chronic Stress and Jaw Clenching:
Busy executive moms often unconsciously clench their jaw during stressful meetings, tight deadlines, or even while juggling home life.
What Happens:
- The jaw muscles stay semi-contracted throughout the day.
- Over time, this overworks the TMJ joint, leading to inflammation and pain.
Small Shift:
- Build short breath work breaks into your day to lower tension and relax your jaw muscles and reduce the tightness in your neck and shoulders.
Muscle Imbalances and Weakness:
If the muscles that support your jaw, neck, and upper back are weak or imbalanced, your TMJ joint doesn't have the support it needs.
What Happens:
- Other muscles (like those around the jaw, in the head, neck and shoulders) tighten to compensate.
- Tension spreads into your neck, shoulders, head and face, fuelling more discomfort.
Small Shift:
- Incorporate gentle neck strengthening and posture exercises to create a balanced, supportive foundation for your TMJ.
TMJ pain relief comes from more than just a night guard! If you’ve been blaming teeth grinding alone for your TMJ pain, it’s time to look deeper. By addressing posture, stress management, and muscular balance, you can finally start to relieve jaw tension naturally and show up with more energy, confidence, and comfort in your executive mom life. You can find practical solutions and more details on TMJ pain in the free training "Manage your jaw pain by correcting your posture" in my (free) community HERE.
If you like this blog and want to be notified about new blogs as soon as they are published, subscribe to my mailing list below.
I would love to see you around the internet! For other places you can explore more about me: https://withswati.com/page/link
0 Comments