Our jaws are held together by extremely strong tendons, ligaments and muscles. When they are tense, they can feel like painful steel cables inside our jaw, and can even pull our jaw out of alignment. This results in a condition called TMD (Temporal Mandibular Disorder), commonly referred to as TMJ. 

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofascial Research estimates that over 10 million Americans have TMD. In addition, 10% of adults and 15% of children grind their teeth at night. 

That's a lot of stress and tension! To make things worse, tension in the jaw often spreads via the fascia to our teeth, neck and head, contributing to pain, stiffness, and headaches.

We live in a stressful world, and most of us hold an incredible amount of tension in our jaws. We even have idioms that encourage us to do so! When we “grin and bear it” or “keep a stiff upper lip” we may avoid an argument, but our bodies literally pay the price by holding on to the tension and stress we are unable to express.

The good news is, you don't have to live with it. Myofascial Release of the jaw can relieve pain and tension that has been there for decades. Sometimes, our jaws are tight and restricted from orthodontic work we had as children. Sometimes its related to poor posture while sitting at a desk, which puts tremendous strain on our neck, head and jaw. Sometimes it's plain old stress and pent up emotions. But whatever the cause, releasing the myofascial restrictions in the jaw can provide amazing relief you never thought possible!