Today, lets talk about our jaw, or TMJ joint. I’m sure some of you are thinking, why in the world is this guy talking about my jaw but believe me there are a large number of people that suffer from TMJ trouble. You might be one of them and not even know it. Lets first talk about when we look at a TMJ as a possible source of pain. Typically, when we have clicking, popping, or snapping within the jaw we will definitely look closer at it. We also look to the jaw a lot of times when someone has chronic, daily headaches. Particularly if the headaches are there as soon as you wake up in the morning. This is a pretty good indication that you are clinching your jaw at night without even knowing it. A couple things you can do at home to help work on this is work on ensuring your jaw is in proper resting position. That position is lips touching, teeth apart, and tongue resting on the roof of your mouth. Practice this throughout the day and you may find that you are one of those that has trouble with the jaw. Once we make a habit out of good jaw resting position, we have a lot less stress on the muscles surrounding the joint. Another thing that typically helps is managing stress. Exercise is a wonderful stress reliever. Take 20-30 minutes just for you every day. Go for a short walk if you are able. Ready a book, pray, meditate, whatever works for you, do it! You’ll thank yourself sooner than you expect. If you guys have any question don’t hesitate to contact our office! If you have a topic you want us to cover just let us know and we will see what we can do.