Description
Have you ever had a sore jaw after a long day of talking or after eating a large meal? When chewing or talking, the joints in your jaw may swell or cause pain. Jaw exercises are targeted exercises for your jaw to try and improve facial aesthetics and remove tension.
Benefits
- Reduced muscle pain and fatigue
- May help to give a defined jaw-line
- Youthful appearance noted by some users
Required Equipment
- Jaw exercise tool such as a tungsten resistance device
- Gum
How to Do It
There are a variety of exercises that target the jaw, for example:
- Repeatedly biting down on a small silicone ball to work out the jaw
- Chewing gum
- Simple facial exercises, e.g. making a chewing motion while inhaling, rotating the jaw
- Using a tool such as a tungsten bar device causing you to exercise the jaw in a biting style exercise, fighting against resistance, e.g. ThermaBite device
- Massaging gently on the the jawline or other painful areas near the jaw
Why it works
- Studies have shown that repeated jaw exercises may result in significant improvement of muscle pain and fatigue in the jaw. These exercises showed that repetitive muscle lengthening that these exercises provide could offer protection against damage to the area.
- Regular resistance exercises improve muscle strength and tone while playing a vital role in defining the muscle.
- A recent study involving middle-aged women who regularly participated in muscle-resistant facial training exercises showed that on average, women looked three years younger after 20 weeks of the exercises with significant improvement in upper and lower cheek fullness
Time Commitment
5 mins per day
Suggested Frequency
Two to three times per week
Time of Day
Before bed, so the muscles have time to relax afterwards for several hours.
Gurus/Celebrities/Doing it
Danielle Collins
Kandee Johnson
Cindy Crawford
Possible Side Effects
- Tension headaches and jaw clicking are common side effects of overworking the jaw and putting too much strain on your muscles. Reducing the frequency/stopping exercises should solve this problem.
- Remember to be extra careful when putting anything in or near the mouth so that you don’t chip or break teeth.
- Displacing the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a possible side effect of parafunctional jaw exercises and can require surgery and permanently damage the joint. Use caution and consult a licensed doctor if you have any questions.
Tips
- Consult a doctor if you are worried about the effects of jaw exercises
- Ensure children do not have access to jaw exercise tools due to the choking hazard risk
- The jaw is a relatively active part of the body. Remember that this habit isn’t required to be performed excessively
- While there is potential for jaw exercise to define the jawline, it is tough to know how these exercises will affect areas of the face, and a favorable aesthetic result cannot be guaranteed.
