Therapeutic exercises >>>> Jaw joint contracture - exercises

Jaw joint contracture - exercises.

Contracture of the jaw joint is a frequent pathology that occurs spontaneously as a result of injuries and diseases of the joint of the lower jaw or periarticular areas (facial muscles, tendons, branches of the trigeminal nerve, bones of the skull skeleton) - structural contracture or contracture that has neurogenic causes, that is, developing against the background tonic tension of skeletal muscles, for example, with convulsions.

The cause of contracture of the temporomandibular joint can be a mechanical injury to the tissues of the ligamentous apparatus of the joint itself, fractures and cracks of the facial skeleton, overstretching of the masticatory muscles as a result of an excessively wide opening of the mouth (for example, during medical manipulations in the oral cavity or pharynx, when yawning), inflammation of soft tissues face, burns of the face, neuralgia of the facial nerve, damage to the branch of the facial nerve as a result of an unsuccessful injection (for example, mandibular anesthesia), convulsive syndrome and other traumatic effects.

As a result of contracture, the mobility of the lower jaw joint is limited or completely absent. Long-term contracture is dangerous because it can cause scarring of tissues - a violation of the elasticity of the ligaments of the articular apparatus, which will require surgical intervention. For this reason, contractures that are not associated with ruptures of the ligaments and periarticular tissues, damage to the branches of the lower jaw and fractures of the bones of the skull are eliminated by simple exercises to stretch the ligaments and muscles of the articular apparatus of the jaw. Similar exercises are carried out during the rehabilitation period after operations on the temporomandibular joint.

The entire set of exercises for contracture of the jaw joint is carried out at a slow pace, with an increase in the number of repetitive movements and slightly overcoming unpleasant pain sensations, in other words, the ligaments and muscles of the lower jaw joint are developed daily. The set of exercises is repeated three times a day: in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening.

Since the joint of the lower jaw can perform several types of movement: forward; down up; sideways to the left; sideways to the right; circular movements, gymnastics for the joint of the lower jaw is based on all types of possible movements of the lower jaw, as well as on the movements of facial muscles.

Exercise 1. Smile without opening your lips or trying to open your mouth. Stretch your smile as wide as possible. Repeat the exercise 10-15 times, 15-20 times, 20-25 times, and so on during the entire number of days planned for treatment sessions.

Exercise 2. Without trying to open your mouth and open your lips, move the lower jaw a few millimeters to the left, then to the right (grinding your teeth), repeat 10-15 times, 15-20 times, 20-25 times and so on, increasing the number of movements every day five times.

Exercise 3. Without opening your lips or opening your mouth, move the lower jaw forward a few millimeters. Repeat 10-15 times daily (+5 times every next day). Increase the extension of the lower jaw every day, without trying to open your mouth.

Exercises 4. Slightly opening your mouth, briefly pronounce the letter "P". Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day). Exercise 5. Pronounce the vowels of the alphabet slightly opening the teeth: "I", "E", "U", "O", "A", "Ya". Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day).

Exercise 6. Slowly stick out your tongue as long as possible, minimizing the opening of the teeth. Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day).

Exercise 7. At a slow pace, open the dentition, lowering the lower jaw as much as the pain syndrome allows. Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day). If necessary, forcibly open the jaws with your fingers.

<Exercise 8. Insert a strip of elastic tourniquet between the dentition, remove its ends in the corners of the mouth, pulling the tourniquet on both sides with your hands and pressing the tourniquet on the dentition of the lower jaw, lower the jaw down. Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day).

Exercise 9. If it is possible to open the dentition by half a centimeter and more with the lower jaw, try to draw the letter "O" - this is a circular movement of the jaw. Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day).

Exercise 10. Day after day try to open your mouth a little wider than on the previous day. Repeat 10-15 times (+5 times for each subsequent day).