“How do you relax TMJ muscles?”

Speech therapy and physical therapy can assist with TMJ using manual massage and dry needling techniques.

You need to consult your physician directly for an analysis. Get an evaluation from a dentist who specializes in TMJ and see an orofacial myofunctional therapist for an evaluation.

Well, that is outside of my realm of expertise; however, I clench my teeth while sleeping and sometimes I wake up with very tight, sore jaw muscles. My dentist recommended massage therapy on my jaw muscles to prevent TMJ dysfunction. 

Hi. I would strongly suggest Acupuncture to release the trigger points associated with TMJ. THis is not an area for Speech Language Pathologists to treat. You can locate a practioner here: https://www.asacu.org/find-a-practitioner/
[https://www.asacu.org/wp-content/uploads/JASA-Summer-2020.jpg]<https://www.asacu.org/find-a-practitioner/>
Find a Practitioner – American Society of Acupuncturists<https://www.asacu.org/find-a-practitioner/>
Please click on one of our member state associations to find a practitioner in your region
www.asacu.org


Best of luck!

Karen Young, MS, CCC-SLP

Repeat small mouth-opening and mouth-closing movements several times as a warm-up. Then, place your fingers on the top of your front four bottom teeth. Slowly pull down until you feel slight discomfort on the tight side of your jaw. Hold for 30 seconds, and then slowly release your jaw back to the staring position.