Why Is TMJ Pain Not Just About Teeth Grinding: Other Jaw Pain Causes You Might Be Overlooking
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.


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:
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.

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MEET SWATI

 
Hi there! 
I am Swati, an Executive Mum Power Coach and a Certified Posture Expert. I use my proven system to help mums of younger kids working in high-stress executive jobs manage their back, neck, and nerve pains, despite low energy levels and brain fog. I do all this without taking away a big chunk of their time out of their already busy day. This enables them to be more productive and capable professionals at work and guilt-free mums who can focus on their kids instead of always being distracted by pain. 



My passion for helping executive mums stems from my own experiences. I have been in the same boat and understand the frustration and helplessness of being in constant pain or being afraid to engage in activities due to the fear of pain. After two pregnancies in the span of three years and juggling my two kids, housework, and a demanding job, I was constantly in pain. The weight gain from motherhood added extra stress to my already overburdened spine and joints. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight loss and spinal/nerve pain that I just couldn’t break free from.

On top of the physical pain, I also suffered from adrenal fatigue. I often felt exhausted, waking up groggy even after a full night’s (10 to 12 plus hours!) sleep, and struggled with low energy levels and brain fog. Simple tasks became challenging, and I found myself forgetting things and unable to think clearly. It was incredibly frustrating and made it even harder to balance my professional responsibilities and family life.

My work involved long hours of standing during the day, prolonged hours on the laptop in the evening, and lots of running around and rocking my kids to sleep in between. Despite my knowledge and expertise in pain relief, I still found myself unable to escape the constant daily pain and fatigue.

Sitting at a desk job from 9 to 5, or longer, plus endless meetings that seem to go on forever. The frequent traveling, the uncomfortable hotel pillows that make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep—I’ve experienced it all. I remember not being able to share my discomfort at work because I felt like an imposter, talking about pain relief strategies and focusing on work while I was not able to achieve it myself. I didn’t disclose the extent of my pain and forgetfulness to my colleagues for years. Even though I loved my kids and my job, I couldn’t give 100% to either. The discomfort held me back from reaching my full potential, making me feel guilty as a mum and less productive at work. I felt like I was constantly running on empty, unable to catch a break from the pain and exhaustion.

finally got fed up after years of trying and decided to make a New Year’s resolution to get ‘healthy’ instead of focusing solely on my pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, and weight loss. When I shifted my focus to getting healthier by reducing the inflammation in my body and addressing my adrenal fatigue, the pain started to decrease, my energy levels and focus improved, and the pounds started shedding off too! That, of course, meant a happier spine, nerves, joints, and a happier me! Today, my neck, back, and nerve pain are down to zero, my knee pain has reduced by 75%, my brain fog has reduced drastically and my energy levels are higher than ever. I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong solutions for over a decade!

Now, my mission is to share my knowledge of pain relief and managing adrenal fatigue along with my personal experience with other mums, especially those with younger kids who work in high-stress executive jobs. My goal is to help you find lasting relief, boost your energy, and reclaim your life, just as I did. 

If you can relate to all this, you are not alone. As a mum, I have been there and done that—momma, I got you! I’ve helped hundreds of mums in this situation over the years find their solution to manage spinal and joint pains, low energy levels, and brain fog that hold them back. This enables them to feel confidently in control and empowers them to cultivate that confidence and productivity at work and enjoy being with their kids, to be able to run around with them without the fear of injury or pain.

Are you ready for this journey? Ask me how if you are curious.

Let's DO THIS!
xx Swati
** Executive Mum Power Coach **

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