Closeup of a woman touching her jaw.

 

How to fix lockjaw pain (Trismus)

Body Part:
Jaw

Equipment:
The Jaw Hero

Level:
Beginner

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Roland Liebscher-Bracht

Germany’s trusted pain specialist

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Roland & Petra

THE PAIN SPECIALISTS

Over 30 years of research and hands-on experience make the Liebscher & Bracht pain therapy what it is today: an outstanding approach to naturally treating pain conditions. Making use of the mechanics of the body, it offers people the chance to free themselves of their discomfort by using unique and incredibly useful techniques. All this happens without having to rely on medication or operations.

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How to Fix Lockjaw Pain (Trismus)

Lockjaw, clinically known as trismus, is a painful disorder of the jaw muscles that restricts how wide you can open your mouth. (Most of us can open our mouths 35 to 55 millimetres.) If you’re experiencing jaw pain because of trismus, our stretching routine may be able to help. Our exercises take about 8 minutes, and you’ll need the Jaw Hero. If you don’t have our tool, use something similar in shape, like a cork. Jump to our routine to start alleviating discomfort, or keep reading to learn more about lockjaw.

Lockjaw is caused by spasms in the mastication muscles, which we use to chew. The muscles tighten and shorten, hindering the temporomandibular joint’s movement. We have two temporomandibular joints, one on the left and one on the right side of our faces, just in front of the ears. The temporomandibular joints act as hinges, facilitating smooth jaw movement when it opens and closes.

What Are the Symptoms of Lockjaw?

If you have lockjaw, you may find eating, swallowing, speaking, or maintaining oral hygiene difficult (or even impossible).

Additional lockjaw symptoms are:

  • jaw pain (even when your jaw is still),
  • the inability to fully open your mouth,
  • rigid or tight jaw muscles,
  • cramped jaw muscles,
  • headache.

What Causes Lockjaw?

Lockjaw can be caused by:

A tetanus infection. Tetanus is a serious bacterial infection that occurs when Clostridium tetani enter your body through broken skin, usually from cuts, burns, or bites from animals or insects. The condition affects the nervous system. Tetanus causes painful muscle contractions in the jaw and neck.

Inflamed tissue. Chewing too much (a.k.a. excessive mastication or Temporomandibular Joint disorder) can overwork the jaw muscles and inflame the soft tissue.

Trauma to the jaw. The mastication muscles have been injured, or the jaw bone is fractured.

Oral surgery. An operation performed in the mouth can damage tissue. If you’ve had to keep your mouth open wider than usual for a long period, the hyperextension of the jaw muscle can cause lockjaw.

Teeth grinding.

Arthritis in the jaw.

How Long Does Lockjaw Last?

Lockjaw can last for up to two weeks. Some cases of trismus are permanent.1)

A woman is pulling her chin down with one hand and pushing her forehead back with the other.

Exercise 1: Jaw Joint Stretch

    • Begin by sitting in a chair with your back straight, looking straight ahead.
    • With a flat hand, fully extend your thumb to form a 90° angle.
    • Grip your lower jaw with your angled hand and tilt your head back.
    • Pull your jaw down as far as you can. You’ll feel a stretch in your temporomandibular joints.
    • Place your free hand on your forehead to keep it from coming up.
    • Keep pulling to intensify the stretch.
    • Hold the stretch for between 2 and 2.5 minutes.
    • Finish.
    A woman has one hand on her chin and her index finger on the tip of her nose.

    Exercise 2: Lateral Jaw Stretch

    • Place your right index finger along the left edge of your lower jaw.
    • Open your mouth slightly and push your jaw to the right.
    • Stabilize your head by placing the tip of your free index finger against the end of your nose or placing your hand against your forehead.
    • Push your jaw further to the right. When you feel an intense stretch, hold for 2 to 2.5 minutes.
    • Finish and repeat the stretch in the opposite direction.
    A woman is biting into the Jaw Hero.

    Exercise 3: Jaw Hero Stretch

    For this stretch, you’ll need our Jaw Hero. Choose a holder and cork attachment size that create a challenging but not painful stretch. If your jaw is in severe pain, we recommend starting with the small holder and 0.5 attachments.  

    • Place the Jaw Hero between your upper and lower teeth and tilt your head back slightly.
    • Hold this position for between 2 and 2.5 minutes.
    • Finish.

    Stretch Twice a Day to Unlock Those Locked Jaw Muscles.

    We recommend performing our lockjaw exercise routine twice a day. Additionally, you can stretch with the Jaw Hero for 2-minute sessions throughout the day.

     

    Sources & Studies

    • ↑1 Santiago-Rosado, L. M., & Lewison, C. S. (2022). Trismus. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.

    Get Exercises and Tips to relieve lockjaw pain

    Download our FREE PDF guide with easy-to-follow exercises for lockjaw pain.
    Lockjaw Painfree Guide
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