I know that I have talked before about how I get my head massaged (and shrunk, but that's a different topic) every week or two on the reg, but I have yet to post any of the science behind it. My chiropractor focuses on my temporalis, masseter and suboccipitals during treatment. Speak English Tiffany! What do those sciency words mean?? Why do you give your chiropractor so much money to massage them?
Ah. Relax my friends. I don't have to explain all of this, because blogger Paul Ingraham (a self-described over-qualified massage therapist) at PainScience.com has published the most helpful article on Massage Therapy for Bruxism, Jaw Clenching and TMJ Syndrome. In this article, he describes the Trigger Points, or muscle knots, that can be self-massaged for TMJ pain relief. Am I just wasting my money? (Just kidding...I couldn't do all that Dr. Nino does for me).
Not only does he talk about where to push, but the article describes, in easy to read style, your masseter muscle anatomy, physiology, the areas that it can affect, symptoms and tips to help you relax your jaw muscles and how to care for them by lifestyle adjustments. In fact, there are so many links in there that are incredibly useful and relevant, I can't even describe them all.
Anyways, if you are still reading here, stop. Go to the article. It's long, but it's so incredibly useful and educating. And if you are reading this blog in support of me, but not because you're dealing with TMJ pain...check out the Pain Science blog. He has tips for all kinds of aches, pains and injuries. I highly recommend checking it out, even just to better understand what's going on inside all of us.
P.S. There's also an article linked in there called Pain Changes How Pain Works. It's a discussion about how pain itself results in more pain with less provocation, and he describes it as "Owner's Manual Stuff".
