Video of Rebecca talking about her jaw pain journey
Rebecca wanted to share her story with other people experiencing jaw pain. Here is our video conversation. If you’d like to know more about her process I’ve written more about it below the video and linked to the other providers she used. Then, sign up for the free training video at the bottom of this page so you can get started with self-massage.
First, only looking for jaw pain relief
Rebecca came to me as a massage client looking to address her intense jaw pain and headaches. I specialize in head, neck & jaw work. She was close to going through with jaw surgery. Through our hands on work, education & her intense dedication to self-massage she’d have some times of relief. For her relief to hold longer she had to bring in other professionals. So I pointed her in the right direction and the long term relief followed.
Myofunctional therapy
From looking & asking questions I suspected she had sleep issues, a tongue tie, a tongue thrust, an open bite, and was a mouth breather. Since I can’t diagnose or change these issues I first referred her to Tracey Brizendine, a local myofunctional therapist. Tracey describes myofunctional therapy as, “a program to correct the improper function of the tongue and facial muscles used for chewing, swallowing and while at rest.”
Anterior tongue tie in a child.
Tracey educated Rebecca on proper chewing, swallowing and breathing techniques to reduce some of the muscular strain. Retraining the tongue thrust was important so that future dental work could hold.
Frenectomy
Tracey identified a tight lingual frenum (the string of tissue that holds the tongue to the floor of the mouth) in Rebecca. This can also be called a tongue tie. After some sessions together for proper retraining of poor habits Rebecca was cleared for a frenectomy with Dr. Jared Poplin. Dr. Poplin performs his frenectomy with a laser. When he addressed the tongue tie he also released a lip tie so Rebecca could close her lips with more ease and less effort.
Rebecca would report that the massage and myofunctional exercises were more effective and the results where holding longer. The tight frenums are examples where anatomy limits function. Address the anatomy and gain full function. It is very important to have the training of myofunctional therapy if you are going to have a frenectomy!
Dentistry for the open bite
Due to a long history of having a tongue thrust Rebecca had an open bite. This made it difficult to properly tear and chew food. So she kept aggravating the muscles and joint. Now that she had training from Tracey on proper swallowing and tongue posture, plus the frenectomy, she went to see Dr. Bethell for her open bite. She was happy that he was able to slowly correct this using Invisalign.
Sleep help
Rebecca went for a sleep study at Tracey’s request and now uses an APAP machine while sleeping. She says on nights that she keeps it on she wakes up more rested and has energy that lasts her for the day.
Smaller condyle of the mandible
During this process she had a scan that showed one mandibular condyle was smaller than it should be. This is only one reason for the jaw dysfunction and pain. By taking care of what we could do from a least invasive angle (addressing muscles, airway, tongue, dentistry) she was able to stay out of surgery! I’m sure you can see that “least invasive” doesn’t always mean “least amount of work.”
Rebecca knows she will always be in maintenance mode with this bone issue. When the pain creeps up she goes back to the foundation of a session with me, self-massage, jaw tracking for uniform opening, and her myofunctional training for tongue placement.
How you can start learning
My online course Self Help to Relieve Head, Neck & Jaw Pain can teach you some of what I taught Rebecca. You can learn from home for less than the cost of one office visit. Sign up for a free training video from HelpHeadPain.com to start learning now.
What you'll learn in the course Self Help to Relieve Head, Neck & Jaw Pain:
Identify tight muscles that cause pain in the head, neck and jaw
How to perform self-massage techniques to address & relieve muscle and joint pain
How to use stretching and stabilization techniques for tight and tense muscles to improve range of motion
Habits to start or stop to break the pain cycle
The role airway and tongue placement play in head, neck and jaw pain
Just for dental professionals
I’m looking to team with more dental practices and myofunctional therapists throughout the US from my scope of practice as a TMJ focused structural massage therapist. My online course is an affordable way to train your patients on self-massage, stretching, and balanced activation of the head, neck & jaw area. It also teaches habits to start and stop as well as the role airway plays. Visit www.katiemassage.com/doctors for a free video for your staff about trigger points.
Story is shared with Rebecca’s permission.