This document provides instructions for a tennis ball therapy (TBT) exercise to relieve jaw pain caused by excessive clenching or tension in the masseter muscles. The masseter muscles are responsible for closing the jaw and can become sore or tense from overuse, such as from prolonged smiling, dental surgery, or from keeping one's mouth shut due to stress or abuse. The TBT exercise involves using a tennis ball to apply pressure and massage the masseter muscles on both sides of the face through gentle movements of the head to relieve tension and pain. Following the TBT instructions could provide headache relief and help "get rid of the pain once and for all" by releasing tightness in the masseter muscles.

1. Coping with Covid
Keeping quiet
can hurt.
Here’s some
ways to ease
that lockdown
pain.
Enjoy!

2. Reducing
the cost of
keeping
your mouth
shut during
Covid-19
lockdown.
UNDER the surface of the
cheek lie the Masseter (chewing)
and Temporalis muscles (the
latter is attached to the temp-
oral bone up the side of the
head. They are the
prime movers that close
the jaw and are some of
the strongest muscles
of the body.
Think of the pressure need-
ed to bite through the skin of
a crisp apple, crunch your way
through some nuts or muesli,
or grind up a chunk of steak
and you will know there is
some serious power involved
here.
Have you ever had such a
good time that you smiled
until your face hurt? Or do
you spend your day smiling
at difficult clients and then
come home with the hell
headache?
Well, you smiled till the face
muscles were sore, and are
suffering from Occupational
Overuse Syndrome OOS just
by overdoing something you en-
joyed.
Alternately, you may have
had your jaw wedged open for
dental surgery, which could
contribute to pain too. Regard-
less of the reason, too much
pressure on your jaw muscles
can have many nasty side
effects.
Pressure on your jaw mus-
cles can place pressure on
the temporo-mandibular
joint, which can cause ear-
aches as well as jaw pop-
ping and clicking, all the
while placing pressure on
the maxillary sinuses con-
tributing to sinusitis.
Referred tension here can
lead to neck pain, head
aches and long nights of
clenching and grinding
teeth that will leave you
feeling worn out and under
the weather.
You could take pain killers
ignore it and put up with
the side effects, or you
might want to try this TBT
exercise and get rid of the
pain once and for all.
We often work with victims
of abuse, whose munching
muscles are locked tight
from years of keeping their
mouth shut and their emo-
tions hidden.
01
Pic 01 Push your fingers into
the middle of both cheeks just
below the upper jaw and feel for
a difference in tension. In cases
where this is a major issue, the
muscle here will feel solid like
Cheddar cheese and sore to
touch.
When healthy it should feel soft
and flexible, and not hurt to
touch. As always with this form
of therapy start with the least
tense side first.

3. 02
02 & 03 Now lie flat on the floor or sit facing your desk. Place a tennis ball as
shown and gently lower the least sore the side of your face down and your jaw
slightly open (just enough for the knuckle of your big finger to fit into your mouth).
03
06 Finally, rotate the head around so
the ball moves over the cheek in small
orbits about the size of an egg make
sure you get right down onto the lower
jaw.
04 / 05 Slide your head forwards and
backwards over the ball parallel to the
floor or desk rolling it along the cheek
all the way to the ear lobe and back to
the starting point.
04 05
06
This TBT is focussed on the releasing the Masseter muscle of the jaw. There is also a
TBT treatment for Temporalis another muscle used to close the jaw. If you only have mild
symptoms you will end up with happier cheek muscles and a much bigger smile, and
your headaches will be headed to the past. But be warned, if you have bad symptoms or
you’re coming from a bad emotional space disturbing this pain could be quite unpleasant
at first. So, take your time relax and let the ball and the weight of your head do the work.