What causes the jaw to cramp on one side. Why the jaws and teeth are cramped: causes of trismus of the masticatory muscles and facial muscles. Jaw cramps: somatic causes

Spasm of the masticatory muscles is a condition familiar to many.

Doctors call this pathology trismus, and people say that the jaw is cramped. Spasms, cramping jaw joint, can make themselves felt only occasionally or are repeated quite often.

Causes

Patients who have experienced this unpleasant symptom, they really want to figure out why their jaws are cramping. If your jaw cramps, this could be explained for various reasons:

dental diseases;
period of bearing a child;
physical or emotional stress;
osteochondrosis or other pathologies cervical region ridge;
various types of injuries.

Besides, this pathology may be due to bruxism (grinding teeth in sleep). When only the lower jaw cramps, it is most often due to damage trigeminal nerve. In addition to jaw reduction, short intense pains appear that radiate to the teeth or affect the entire half of the face. The entire attack usually lasts no more than 20 minutes, after which the patient experiences relief.

While chewing

When the jaw cramps during chewing, this may indicate a previously experienced trauma to the jaw apparatus. This is especially true when it comes to stress. masticatory muscles when eating solid food. If a person has a history (even a minor one), then during meals involuntary contractions of the masticatory muscles occur.

Trismus while eating can make itself felt after consumption acidic foods or alcoholic drinks. They can provoke esophagospasm, causing jaw spasm. With dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) or problems with salivation (salivation), spasms of the muscles of the jaw apparatus also develop.

Video

Jaw pain

Cheekbone spasm from nerves

The nervous system reacts sharply to even the slightest changes in the body, and one of the manifestations of this can be discomfort or spasm in the jaw. The psychosomatic component manifests itself in the fact that the symptoms of the lesion nervous system may not be observed, but muscle fibers those under severe tension still cause a spasm.

With psycho-emotional stress, the jaw also cramps during night rest. If a person experiences convulsions, myalgia or trismus, then most likely before this he was very frightened or had an outburst of anger. If your jaw and cheekbones are cramped from nerves, then you should relax and do a self-massage of your jaw.

In addition, the jaw cramps when affected peripheral nerves, for neuralgia, as well as in patients registered with a psychiatrist.

In this case, you cannot do without consulting relevant specialists.

While yawning

Spasms may occur when yawning. Typically, this symptom is encountered by patients who have a history of jaw trauma. Against this background, he may experience slight swelling of the face and spasms during yawning. Only specialized specialists can probably find out the reason for this.

In addition, if yawning is accompanied by trismus, then cooling compresses can help eliminate the symptom. And in order to relieve muscle hypertonicity, it is recommended to reconsider your diet: exclude solid foods, and give preference to those that have a soft structure.

Other reasons

The cheekbones and jaw can be brought together in the background dental diseases:

inflammation of the root membrane of the teeth (periodontal tissue) and adjacent tissues;
gradual destruction of hard tooth tissues;
inflammation neurovascular bundle(pulp) located inside the tooth.

Gum disease can cause swelling and compression of nerve fibers, which provoke. In addition, the jaw cramps when the larynx is affected, tonsillitis, or a tumor in the nasopharynx cavity. This symptom also sometimes occurs if a person has a cold. Another one trivial reason What causes jaw cramps is the habit of talking on the phone while pinching it with your shoulder and ear.

Diagnostic methods

It is almost impossible to determine on your own at home what caused spasms in the jaw apparatus, therefore, if a cramping symptom occurs, you need to seek help from medical institution urgently.

This is especially appropriate to do if the following appears accompanying symptoms:

strong pain syndrome in the jaw or headaches;
swelling under the ears;
persistent spasm on one side only;
low-grade fever or fever;
pain is throbbing and prolonged;
pain radiates to the eyes;
paroxysmal, involuntary contraction muscles as a result of their overstrain in the lower part of the face.

Before meeting with a doctor, it is necessary to reduce the load on the jaw (do not open your mouth wide, talk less, refuse solid foods). If the pain is tolerable, then it is better not to use painkillers so that they do not blur the symptoms.

Can cause spasm of the jaw apparatus various pathologies, therefore necessary comprehensive diagnostics:

urine and blood analysis;
radiography;

Having received all the research results and carefully studied the medical history, the doctor will be able to make a final diagnosis and select an adequate effective therapy. To achieve this, the patient may need consultation from several specialists: dentist, neurologist, cardiologist, surgeon, traumatologist.

How to treat

If your jaw cramps, not everyone knows what to do. Pick up suitable treatment should be a specialist, based on the etiology of the pathology. This condition can be eliminated using various therapeutic regimens. The treatment method is selected based on the root cause that caused the symptom:

If the jaw is so tight that the patient cannot open his mouth for examination, then first of all Botox is injected into the pathological focus to relax the masticatory muscles. Although the effect does not last long, it is usually enough to warrant a thorough examination by a specialist.
If trismus is a symptom of some underlying somatic disease, then to relieve muscle tension they begin to urgently treat it.
If the reason is related to the patient’s psycho-emotional state, then he must be prescribed sedatives, based on bromide and sedative medicinal plants.
If such a symptom is caused by inflammatory processes, then prescribed antibacterial agents, allowing to suppress infectious process or eliminating the consequences of injury. The jaw is also immobilized and physiotherapeutic treatment is carried out.
In most cases, regardless of the cause that provoked trismus, the patient is prescribed muscle relaxants and neuropsychological drugs in parenteral form.

The jaw does not always cramp due to trismus. Sometimes this may be associated with taking antidepressants. When a person completes the therapeutic course, the jaw no longer cramps. If such a symptom bothers you only occasionally, then this may indicate hypovitaminosis, so you need to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, and also take courses of synthetic multivitamins, especially in the off-season.

Massage

Massage sessions help get rid of pain and relieve spasms in the area of the masticatory muscles and TMJ. Since muscle fibers are located on the descending processes and on both sides lower jaw, and the TMJ is localized opposite auricle, then all massage manipulations should be very gentle with minimal effort.

Manipulations are performed by the middle and index finger. They are carefully moved along the cheek, feeling the jaw joint. Apply pressure very gently so that the muscles relax and the pain goes away. Massage this area for no more than 30 seconds.

Warm and cold

Under the influence of heat, muscle fibers relax, and spasms are eliminated by improving blood circulation. You can use a bottle with warm water or a hot compress, in the absence of contraindications, which is applied to the pathological focus for 30 minutes.

To avoid causing burns, do not use compresses that are too hot.

If the jaw cramps, then alternating warm and cooling effects can be a real godsend for the patient at home. Low temperatures eliminate inflammatory process and reduce pain. After 5-10 minutes, the warm compress is replaced by a cold one, and then the heat is applied again.

Discomfort in the jaw is most often associated with problems in the temporomandibular joint, formed by the head of the mandible and the tubercle temporal bone, which, together with the articular disc, are enclosed in the articular capsule. The movements in this joint are very complex: they are carried out not only by the masticatory muscle, but also by six other adjacent muscles. The movements of the lower jaw help us not only when eating, but also during conversation, laughter, and coughing.

It is not surprising that the temporomandibular joint, according to medical observations, serves as the center of balance for the entire human body. With a symmetrical position of the lower jaw, the head muscles do not experience tension, and displacement of the lower jaw in any direction leads to an imbalance of the head. Problems in this area affect the muscles of the head, neck, temporomandibular joints, cranial nerves and cause chronic pain on one side or, less commonly, on both sides of the face or head. Usually this condition has a very depressing effect on the patient; he completely “loses himself” and is unable to think about anything other than eliminating the pain.

Painful sensations may appear in the morning, during the day or in the evening, it depends on different types joint damage and is important for the doctor to make a diagnosis.

To the dentist!

The cause of discomfort may also be due to incorrect position of the teeth. In this case, you will need the help of a maxillofacial dentist who will supply temporary or permanent splints and dentures that correct the incorrect position of the jaw.

A rehabilitation doctor can help if the pain is caused by increased tone or tension in the masticatory muscles, limited mobility of the lower jaw, incoordination of contractions of the masticatory muscles, excessive mobility of the head of the lower jaw (sometimes this causes “clicking” in the temporomandibular joint).

Pain and clicking disappear after normalization of the function of the masticatory muscles and joint, except in cases where arthrosis deformans and inflammation in the joint are diagnosed. Then treatment should begin with following the recommendations of a rheumatologist and orthopedist.

Attention - facial expressions!

After complex treatment Patients are advised to use medicated mouth guards at night. They are made individually by the orthodontist. Overlays reduce painful sensations in the joint, an unpleasant feeling of heaviness, fatigue in the masticatory muscles, neck muscles, normalize the opening of the mouth.

In order to prevent this very annoying nuisance from happening again, you need to avoid active conversations while eating, an excited manner of speaking when a person does not notice what is happening with his facial expressions, as well as hypothermia, which can provoke inflammation in the joint, which makes him more prone to to incorrect movements, more vulnerable.

On a note

To normalize the movements of the lower jaw, exercises are used that strengthen certain muscle groups, restore the synchronization of their movement and coordination.

When the lower jaw is shifted to the right

Starting position: lips open, jaw relaxed, left elbow resting on the table surface, left side The chin is located on the left hand. Press with force with your lower jaw left hand, and with your hand, without moving it to the side, on the jaw. Then the tension alternates with the maximum possible relaxation of the muscle: holding your head with your hands, let your jaw “hang freely” for 30 seconds. Exercises for lateral displacement of the lower jaw to the left are the same, but on the other side.

When the lower jaw moves backward

Starting position: place your elbows on the table surface, the lower jaw rests on both hands and moves forward without opening the mouth until there is slight pain. It is recommended to alternate between slow and fast mouth opening. After 10 such movements, perform exercises aimed at relaxing the muscles. To control, perform the exercise in front of a mirror.

Clicking in a joint

Starting position: lips parted, tongue raised, its tip touching soft palate. Middle line controlled using a mirror. Move your lower jaw back, without lowering or moving it to the side, as if trying to reach the palate with your lower front teeth. Then, for 20 seconds, perform exercises aimed at relaxing the muscles (starting position - rest your forehead on both palms, elbows on the table surface; the lower jaw “hangs” freely).

If your jaw is cramping, then it is extremely important to find out the causes of muscle spasm and what to do in such a situation in the near future to avoid complications.

This happens suddenly and disappears on its own, but whether there is a threat to health is difficult to answer right away. If symptoms recur frequently and cause you pain, get tested to find out the cause.

Why does my jaw cramp?

Single or multiple symptoms Jaw spasms can occur in women during pregnancy, and can be short-term or long-lasting. They occur in the following cases:

when yawning;
if you suffer from bruxism ();
for nervous tension;
for osteochondrosis and other lesions of the cervical spine;
with muscle strain;
for some dental problems.

Reasons for appearance discomfort on the right or left in the jaw in a child and in an adult can be associated with injury. What causes jaw cramps and how to cope with this condition – a specialist will tell you.

Lower jaw only

If you have cramps in the lower jaw, this may indicate a lesion responsible for the innervation of the face. Therefore, such pains radiate to the teeth and one half of the face; they differ in average duration from 10 to 20 minutes.

It is necessary to exclude oncological diseases of the head, muscles, nasopharynx and oral cavity. If you suspect oncology, contact your surgeon, he will adjust your examination and prescribe treatment.

Jaw and cheekbones

The jaw may also become cramped due to the following diseases:

arthrosis;
arthritis;
joint dysfunction.

The same symptoms are observed in vascular diseases, when they are insufficiently supplied with blood. It is enough to start treatment on time and you can avoid surgical intervention. Contact a vascular surgeon and use Newest technologies to treat an illness.

Jaw muscle spasm when yawning

Convulsive muscle contractions during yawning or at the end of the process occur frequently. A dentist, neurologist or surgeon will help you find out the cause of the disease. There may have been an injury, but now only a spasm when yawning or appearance of mild swelling. In this case, cooling compresses can help.

Try changing your diet and switching to soft foods, because chewing hard foods causes severe muscle tension. When you yawn, some muscles lose their tone, and then become hypertonic at the end if they were tense before.

Jaw cramps and headache

There are many reasons for the appearance of pain in the temples or throughout the head when there is a contracted jaw. It could be:

fatigue;
long sedentary work;
migraine;
nervous tension;
consequences of injuries to the spine and jaw;
working on a computer;
lack of fresh air.

Try to eliminate the causes or simply take a break from work when your temples are pressing, light massage and a cold compress on the head if the back of the head hurts.

Tightens jaw and stuffy ears

With such symptoms, consultation with an otolaryngologist is necessary. The cause may range from tonsillitis and damage to the larynx, to tumors in this area. Neuralgia can also provoke spasm and congestion in the ears.

Get rid of the habit of propping your head up and talking on the phone, holding it between your ear and neck. Massage under the ear and apply heat to relax the muscles.

Bruxism

It is easy to identify this disease: if your jaw is clenched tightly in a dream, there is grinding of your teeth. As a result, after waking up, a person experiences severe pain in the jaw and head. Teeth lose part of their enamel, crowns wear off, the position of the teeth is unstable, they become loose.

It is impossible to notice bruxism on your own, but if someone from the outside hears teeth grinding in a dream, then its presence will be obvious.

Jaw spasm from nerves

The nervous system always reacts to any changes in our body, and this can manifest itself as discomfort in the jaw and spasms. Psychosomatics explains the presence of such symptoms by saying that nerve lesions may not be, but the muscles located in constant voltage, resulting in spasm.

If there is no tone, we panic because of numbness and weakness in a certain place. With nervous tension, the jaw may clench in sleep. Then it is necessary to take mild sedatives and consult a neurologist. Nervous stress do not pass without a trace if you have following symptoms like muscle cramps or pain, you have experienced:

Intense fear.
Anger.

Try to distract yourself and relax by massaging your jaw yourself. Cramps in the jaw may indicate neuralgia, inflammation of the nerves, or the presence mental illness.

While eating while chewing

Spasms can occur with minor damage or trauma to the joint. It can occur when chewing hard food.

If you had, even a minor one, then muscle tension while eating leads to involuntary muscle contraction.

Pay attention to when and in what place you experience cramps and what causes them. A visit to the doctor is necessary if:

spasms in one part, there is a rise in temperature,
swelling;
severe pain;
cramps in the lower part of the face and pain radiates to the eye;
constant, lingering pain;
throbbing pain with spasm.

Take the load off your jaw: don't talk too much, don't eat solid foods, don't open your mouth wide. If the pain can be tolerated, do not take analgesics until examined by a doctor, so as not to blur the symptoms of the disease. Take an X-ray of the jaw to rule out dislocation or bone damage.

Video: how to relax your jaw muscles?

Trismus is a spasm of the masticatory muscles or their involuntary contraction, as a result of which the jaws are clenched and it is very difficult or impossible to open them. Why is this happening? Due to irritation of the trigeminal nerve during dental procedures or in case of pathologies and injuries of the dental system.

Trismus can also appear as a sign of other diseases - tetanus, epilepsy, etc. Patients experience pain in the facial area, which intensifies from touching, while chewing, or when trying to open the mouth.

Due to the restriction of movements in the temporomandibular joint, it is impossible to speak, eat, or even breathe normally. Next, we will talk in detail about the causes of trismus and how to treat it.

Symptoms

Trismus is manifested by clenching of teeth. Characteristic symptoms:

jaw tightens. Spasmed masticatory and temporal muscles on one or both sides become tense, swollen, and dense to the touch;
the mouth opens with difficulty or does not open at all;
pain is felt when trying to open your mouth;
in some cases, body temperature rises;
problems appear with speech, eating, breathing, as a result of clenching the teeth.

Manifestations of trismus

Forms

There are three degrees of trismus:

easy – the mouth opens, the distance between the central incisors is 3-4 cm;
medium – the mouth opens 1-2 cm;
severe – inability to open the jaws, mouth opening less than 1 cm.

Since diagnosis requires a visual examination of the oral cavity, Botox is injected into the inflamed area. Otherwise, unclenching your teeth is problematic.

Why does my jaw cramp?

Among the causes of spasm in dental practice the following are found:

consequences of mandibular anesthesia - formation of a blood clot after an injection;
complication of maxillofacial operations. For example, irritation of the trigeminal nerve during removal;
inflammatory processes affecting periodontal tissues, jaw bones and joints: pericoronitis, periostitis, etc.;
purulent tumors that have spread to bone tissue;
fracture or dislocation of the lower jaw.

In some cases, trismus manifests itself as a sign of a number of disorders and pathological conditions, such as tetanus, meningitis, paralysis, epilepsy, brain tumors, neuralgia (damage) of the trigeminal nerve, etc.

The cause of trismus is irritation of the trigeminal nerve

What to do when clenching your teeth

If rabies or tetanus is suspected, the patient should be hospitalized immediately.

In other cases, you should make an appointment with a doctor, and before that, at home, resort to the following measures:

Take a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

Ibuprofen or Naproxen will reduce joint inflammation and provide pain relief.

Apply a warm compress.

You can use a bottle filled with warm water. It is enough to apply it to the sore spot for half an hour: this will increase blood circulation and relieve spasms, and help relax the muscles.

Apply cold to the sore spot.

5-10 minutes after the warm compress you need to cool it down sore spot, relieve inflammation. Then it is again recommended to apply something warm.

Massage the chewing muscles and jaw joints.

Using the tips of your index and middle fingers, you need to feel the soft area on the cheeks in the lower jaw area and massage it for 30 seconds with light movements, without pressure. This will help the muscles relax.

Relieve stress and relax.

You can simply retire for 15 minutes and lie in silence, without thinking about anything. Yoga and meditation will help.

Is trismus dangerous?

Absolutely yes. Firstly, due to the inability to open the jaw normally, a person stops eating; over time, this leads to problems with the stomach and intestines and threatens physical exhaustion.

Difficulty breathing is also dangerous, as this can lead to oxygen starvation. If the jaws are tightly closed, damage to the tooth enamel is also possible.

Trismus caused by infectious (meningitis, tetanus, rabies), oncological (brain tumors) and cardiovascular (stroke) diseases is especially dangerous.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to eliminate the cause that caused trismus.

If trismus was caused by inflammatory processes in the oral cavity, treatment includes:

Eliminating the cause of trismus.

For example, removal of an inflamed tooth or immobilization of the jaw (for fractures or dislocations).

Physiotherapy.

As an option - ultrasonic or laser therapy to relieve pain and inflammation, electrophoresis of anesthetics for instant pain relief.

Antimicrobial therapy.

Taking antibiotics (Lincomycin, Amoxilav, Tsiprolet, Ciprofloxacin, Amoxicillin, Clindamycin, Dalatsin C, etc.) or similar antimicrobials(Streptocide, Sulfacyl, etc.).

If the spasms were caused neurotic conditions, shown sedatives(valerian, motherwort, etc.). In other cases, muscle relaxants that reduce muscle tension are effective - Carisoprodol, Dioxonium.

It is very important that during therapy the patient receives the required amount nutrients and liquids. And if a person cannot eat and drink on his own, a subcutaneous injection of fluid is carried out and parenteral nutrition(intravenous administration of nutrients).

We have compiled a list dental offices, where you can get help for the symptoms of trismus.

Untimely sanitation of the dentition can provoke a spasm. In this case, the affected tooth is painful; pus may separate from the gums or accumulate inside the tissues. The abscess is accompanied by swelling and redness of the cheek. With a toothache, the pain syndrome spreads to top part faces.

There are situations when only the lower jaw is cramped. The cause of this phenomenon, as a rule, is a violation of the trigeminal nerve. In this case main symptom manifests itself in the form of severe paroxysmal pain, which can spread both to the teeth and to the entire half of the face. Such sensations are temporary. The duration of the pain does not exceed half an hour, after which it subsides.

The same feature of pain is characteristic of oncological diseases head, oral cavity and nasopharynx. Therefore, if your jaw is cramped and there is a suspicion that the cause of this is cancer, you should immediately contact a medical institution, where they will perform a CT scan, MRI, X-ray and biopsy. full diagnostics for the presence of a neoplasm.

Reduction or spasm of the jaw can be of several types:

trismus - a tonic spasm associated with the development of pathology of the mandibular joints;
contracture - a reflex contraction of a group of masticatory muscles against the background of pathological conditions of the maxillofacial area;
ankylosis - closure of teeth caused by persistent intra-articular deformation.

Regardless of the type of jaw spasm, each of them is associated with TMJ disorders. The exception is periodic cases.

Etiology pathological condition has any kind common reasons. In most cases, doctors are faced with trismus of the masticatory muscles.

Symptoms:

Clicking, crunching, grinding when the jaw moves.
Limitation of amplitude when opening the mouth.
Pain when opening the mouth in the joints, cervical region, face.
Difficulty chewing, communicating, breathing.

Causes

In this article we will look at the reasons why the jaw cramps, we will figure out when to sound the alarm, and when it is enough to alleviate the syndrome at home.

An unpleasant sensation in the jaw area indicates dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint.

Like all joints, this one has its own capsule (bag), in which quite complex movements of several muscles occur. And this is not surprising, because the jaw is involved in many life processes: chewing and biting, communicating, yawning, coughing, laughing, etc.

Many scientists believe that this joint also serves as the center of balance in the body. If the jaw occupies a symmetrical natural position, then other muscles of the face and head generally do not experience increased loads and discomfort.

If the joint shifts to either side, then the center of gravity of the head also changes, which affects not only it, but also the neck. Cranial nerves may also become pinched, causing the patient to experience chronic spasms.

Pain, discomfort and other unpleasant symptoms may develop during the day or intensify at night, and also depend on the psychological comfort of the patient. Any stress or lack of sleep can lead to increased pain.

Before dealing with the manifestations of the disease, the doctor should reliably know the cause. Then he will be able to determine tactics to influence the area in order to prevent future relapses.

Let's consider the main causes of pathology:

regular stress, nervousness and panic attacks forcing the patient to react violently to the situation;
bruxism (a person has the habit of grinding his teeth);
spasm and tension of muscle fibers in the area, which may be due to uneven distribution of the load;
dental diseases and anatomical pathologies;
physiology of yawning;
illnesses of cardio-vascular system;
pathologies of the cervical vertebrae, neuralgia, etc.

If you did not find your cause in this list, then most likely, spasms in the temples or jaw area are caused by everyday activities:

routine work requiring long periods of time sitting position, especially in a room with a computer and without access to fresh air;
frequent headaches and migraines;
physical fatigue;
stress, increased nervousness;
previously suffered injuries to the jaw or vertebrae.

These causes do not require medical intervention or targeted treatment. If your jaw is cramped, take a break, stretch and breathe some air, and to relieve spasm and discomfort, do acupressure jaw or temples, apply a cool compress.

Before starting to fight the disease, the doctor must find out its cause. Only this will help determine treatment tactics and prevent relapses in the future.

It happens that the jaw cramps, and it is not always possible to independently determine the causes of this condition. This condition capable of causing a normal spasm, it may pass without any serious consequences, however, the possibility of serious complications cannot be excluded.

Spasms, cramping oral cavity, can be either isolated or occur with significant frequency. There can be many reasons for the manifestation, here are some of them:

Reduces the jaw from permanent nerves;
Bruxism (grinding teeth in sleep);
Muscle strain;
Dental diseases;
Residual processes after yawning;
Diseases of the cervical vertebrae.

Patients who have encountered such an unpleasant symptom really want to figure out why their jaws are cramping. If your jaw cramps, this can be due to various reasons:

dental diseases;
period of bearing a child;
physical or emotional stress;
osteochondrosis or other pathologies of the cervical spine;
various types of injuries.

In addition, this pathology can be explained by bruxism (grinding teeth during sleep). When only the lower jaw cramps, it is most often associated with damage to the trigeminal nerve. In addition to jaw reduction, short intense pains appear that radiate to the teeth or affect the entire half of the face. The entire attack usually lasts no more than 20 minutes, after which the patient experiences relief.

The cheekbones and jaw can shrink due to dental diseases:

inflammation of the root membrane of the teeth (periodontal tissue) and adjacent tissues;
gradual destruction of hard tooth tissues;
inflammation of the neurovascular bundle (pulp) located inside the tooth.

It is better to consult a specialist if your jaw often hurts or cramps. The reasons for this phenomenon are varied, from loss of muscle tone to serious injuries or dental problems. The doctor himself will determine why the cheekbones are cramped and determine the reasons for treatment. He will also appoint a doctor who will depend on the cause of the pain in the lower jaw: dentist, traumatologist, neurologist, surgeon, etc.

Traumatic injury to facial muscles

One of the most serious causes of jaw reduction is injury. If the patient has had a bruise, fracture, dislocation of part of the face or neck, this must be reported to the doctor immediately. With such injuries, the lower jaw is often affected, joints and bones are displaced. The victim experiences severe pain.

If jaw spasms actually occur after an injury, the patient is immediately sent for treatment: surgery is performed for a fracture, the dislocation is reduced, and compresses are applied to the bruises.

Nervous system or cardiac disorders

Constant stress, nervousness, which force you to react violently to what is happening;

Bruxism (a person grinds his teeth in his sleep);

Muscle tension and spasm due to uneven load;

Physiological feature of yawning;

Pathological changes in the cervical vertebrae.

Symptoms

Most often, during an attack of convulsions, the jaws are tightly clenched. They cannot be opened independently, since the temporomandibular joint is completely or partially immobilized and the head hurts.

The temporalis, masseter and internal pterygoid muscles are affected. With partial immobilization, a person can open his mouth only slightly, as a result of which the patient’s speech is impaired.

With a one-sided course, the jaw moves in the opposite direction; the reasons can be dental, neurological, traumatic, or also be a consequence of the use of anesthesia.

Spasm of the lower jaw

Trismus often occurs as a result of injury. At the same time, pain is also felt at the site of the bruise when palpated. Injury may be indicated by external manifestations: abrasions, bruises, bruises, swelling. A jammed jaw may indicate a fracture or dislocation. When the trigeminal nerve is damaged, for example, during anesthesia, the spasm is accompanied by paroxysmal pain.

Important: trismus differs from a fracture, inflammatory and other diseases that do not allow the jaw to open due to the presence of hypertonicity. The chewing muscles and muscles in the temple area are extremely tense. When you touch them, a hardening in the form of a fossil is felt.

Brings cheekbones and jaw together

Joint dysfunction, arthritis, arthrosis, vascular pathologies are the main causes of this condition. A lack of blood supply provokes spasms when chewing solid food due to their overexertion.
If the ears are blocked at the same time, the cause is tonsillitis, pathologies of the larynx and oncology of the ENT organs.
If teeth are cramped, chills and a feeling of heaviness in the chest appear, the cause may be a disruption of the cardiovascular system. Most often, this condition develops against the background hypertensive crisis requiring emergency medical intervention. Cardiac disorders may be accompanied by numbness of the extremities and loss of sensation in the fingers.

Jaw pain and aches are the main symptoms for all noted pathologies, both in maxillofacial area, and in the body as a whole. In general, all symptoms can be divided into categories in which they appear: traumatic injuries, tumors, neuralgia, cardiovascular diseases, purulent infections. Each group of reasons has its own characteristics of why the jaw hurts.

Injuries to the maxillofacial area

TO traumatic injuries The most common injuries in the facial area include fracture and dislocation of the jaw. If the patient notes constant pain in the lower jaw or upper jaw, inability to move the jaw and open the mouth, a fracture is suspected. Data clinical examination oral cavity and x-rays will confirm the preliminary diagnosis made by the doctor.

Treatment

We looked at the main reasons why the lower jaw cramps and in which cases treatment can only be provided by a highly specialized doctor.

If your jaw cramps, not everyone knows what to do. A specialist must select the appropriate treatment based on the etiology of the pathology. This condition can be eliminated using various therapeutic regimens. The treatment method is selected based on the root cause that caused the symptom:

If the jaw is so tight that the patient cannot open his mouth for examination, then first of all Botox is injected into the pathological focus to relax the masticatory muscles. Although the effect does not last long, it is usually enough to warrant a thorough examination by a specialist.
If trismus is a symptom of some underlying somatic disease, then urgent treatment begins to relieve muscle tension.
If the reason is related to the psycho-emotional state of the patient, then he must be prescribed sedatives based on bromides and soothing medicinal plants.
If such a symptom is caused by inflammatory processes, then antibacterial agents are prescribed to suppress the infectious process or eliminate the consequences of injury. The jaw is also immobilized and physiotherapeutic treatment is carried out.
In most cases, regardless of the cause that provoked trismus, the patient is prescribed muscle relaxants and neuropsychological drugs in parenteral form.

The jaw does not always cramp due to trismus. Sometimes this may be associated with taking antidepressants. When a person completes the therapeutic course, the jaw no longer cramps. If such a symptom bothers you only occasionally, then this may indicate hypovitaminosis, so you need to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, and also take courses of synthetic multivitamins, especially in the off-season.

Massage

Massage sessions help get rid of pain and relieve spasms in the area of the masticatory muscles and TMJ. Since the muscle fibers are located on the descending processes and on both sides of the lower jaw, and the TMJ is localized opposite the auricle, all massage manipulations should be very gentle with minimal effort.

Manipulations are performed with the middle and index fingers. They are carefully moved along the cheek, feeling the jaw joint. Apply pressure very gently so that the muscles relax and the pain goes away. Massage this area for no more than 30 seconds.

Warm and cold

Under the influence of heat, muscle fibers relax, and spasms are eliminated by improving blood circulation. You can use a bottle of warm water or a hot compress, in the absence of contraindications, which is applied to the pathological focus for 30 minutes.

To avoid causing burns, do not use compresses that are too hot.

If the jaw cramps, then alternating warm and cooling effects can be a real godsend for the patient at home. Low temperatures eliminate the inflammatory process and reduce pain. After 5-10 minutes, the warm compress is replaced by a cold one, and then the heat is applied again.

Relaxation

The jaw may clench in the background constant stress, so experts recommend learning to relax. To do this, you need to find a quiet, comfortable place where the patient will not be disturbed by external stimuli.

The patient should take a comfortable position, close his eyes and breathe deeply and evenly. In this case, a person should focus on silence, birdsong, noise sea surf. You should relax for 10-15 minutes, and then you need to open your eyes, but continue to breathe evenly and deeply.

If your jaw cramps, then this should not be left to chance, since such a symptom can indicate numerous diseases.

It is important to undergo a full examination and not self-medicate, which can only worsen the situation. If you apply for it in time medical care, then you can significantly minimize the risk of possible complications.

Therapy methods

When pain is accompanied by swelling and high temperature, there is a possibility that this happens due to purulent inflammation or paratonsillar abscess with angina. In both options, you need to immediately go to a therapist or surgeon.

If the cheekbones are cramped on only one side of the face, and the pain radiates into the eye socket, this may be inflammation of the facial artery. The surgeon will help again.

Drilling strong pain with irradiation to the jaw, it indicates inflammation of the trigeminal nerve; a neurologist will help to cope with this.

Wisdom teeth or misaligned teeth that lead to jaw spasms can be resolved by visiting a dentist. If an incorrect position of the dentition is discovered in a child, you need to contact a dentist as soon as possible: he will not only solve the problem with pain in the cheekbones, but will also help to aesthetically align the row. The same procedure is possible in adulthood, but it is more painful.

Persistent or frequent pain in the jaw is likely due to the appearance of a tumor, and the pain becomes more severe over time. If you experience regular, progressive and throbbing pain, you should urgently visit a doctor to prevent the growth and development of the tumor.

Analysis and diagnosis of pathology

Diagnosis will depend on the nature of the disease. If you don’t know who exactly to contact, start with a therapist, he will prescribe the necessary doctor.

Dentist. He deals with dental problems: the doctor will determine the cause, examine the teeth, and, if necessary, take an x-ray.
Neuropathologist. Suitable for cases where the jaw begins to cramp after nervous tension or disorders.
Traumatologist. Doctor dealing with mechanical damage bodies. He will be able to determine what caused the pain in the jaw: a bruise, a fracture or a dislocation.
Cardiologist. People who have pain in the jaw are just a consequence of heart disease go to him.

Selection of effective treatment methods

Prognosis for recovery

With dental and neurological nature, inflammatory diseases ENT symptoms disappear after the cause of the disease is eliminated. In case of injuries, dislocations and subluxations, they will help stabilize the condition special exercises aimed at strengthening muscles.