Self-help for jaw and neck tension
Gentle exercises can relieve tense chewing and neck muscles and ease complaints. They are something you have in your own hands, and you can do them at home in between.
Please read this first. Do all exercises slowly and without pain, and stop if it hurts. Exercises do not replace a diagnosis or therapy. With persistent or severe complaints, please have the cause assessed professionally before you practise.
Six exercises for relief
5 to 10 times each, calmly and without pressure.
1 · Loosening the jaw
Rest the tongue gently against the palate and open the teeth slightly so that they do not touch. This keeps the chewing muscles at rest – hold briefly several times a day.
2 · Controlled mouth opening
With the tongue against the palate, open the mouth slowly and close it again. This trains a straight, relaxed movement.
3 · Gentle resistance
Place a fist under the chin and open slightly against it – hold for a few seconds. This activates and stabilises the muscles.
4 · Temples and cheeks
Release the chewing muscles at the temple and cheek with circular finger movements. Only as much pressure as feels comfortable.
5 · Stretching the neck
Slowly tilt the head to the side, keep the shoulder down, and hold for 15 to 20 seconds. This relieves the jaw–neck chain.
6 · Posture and breathing
Sit upright, lower the shoulders, breathe calmly into the belly. This can reduce unconscious clenching.
When exercises are not enough
Self-help has limits. If the complaints persist despite the exercises, keep coming back, or go together with migraine-like headaches, tinnitus, dizziness or facial pain, then in our clinical experience a reflex, nerve-driven misregulation in the jaw system is often at the root. Exercises reach the muscles – they do not reach the control behind them. Then functional diagnostics are the next sensible step: they show whether and how the jaw system is involved.
The same applies the other way round: physiotherapy, osteopathy and manual therapy do valuable work on the muscles and are often exactly the right thing. It is not a question of whether one treatment is better than another, but of whether the cause of your complaints has been found at all. With us this happens with the CMD System Check, which measures bite position, muscle activity and chewing forces instead of guessing at them. How quickly something changes differs from person to person.
Frequently asked questions
Do exercises really help against CMD?
They can relieve tension and support treatment. However, they do not address the reflex, nerve-driven misregulation in the jaw system that may underlie CMD. Exercises are a good companion, not a substitute for an assessment.
How often should I practise?
Better briefly and pain-free several times a day than rarely and intensively. Do them calmly and without pressure.
Can CMD exercises do harm?
Yes, if done incorrectly or painfully. That is why the rule is: practise slowly and without pain, and stop if it hurts. With severe complaints, have them assessed professionally first.
What if the exercises do not help?
Then you should have the cause investigated with functional diagnostics. Exercises alone are not enough in that case. The CMD self-test gives you a first assessment.
Find the cause
Whether your complaints are connected to the jaw system is something we clarify in the CMD strategy consultation on the phone. Or you start with the self-test.