Chronic stress often leads to chronic TMJ problems, and a tense, painful masseter muscle. The body doesn’t necessarily discriminate between the threat of injury and stress in general – as a result, many people develop the habit of clenching their jaw. “Grin and bear it” and “keep a stiff upper lip” are codes for controlling emotion in times of high stress.Īll this reminds us that clenching the jaw can help us endure pain, stress, and emotional turmoil, but it comes with a price. “Bite the bullet” invokes a time before anesthetic, when injured soldiers would be told to bite down on something to endure the pain of surgery. Our culture has some metaphors for dealing with pain, adversity, and tough times. It gives us some useful protection if another primate hits us in the face, as the clenched jaw can reduce injury – boxers and combat athletes train this intentionally to help prevent being knocked out. This is true for humans as well as our close relatives amongst the great apes. But the real trouble comes from the way we hold stress in the body in the form of muscle tension.Ĭlenching the jaw and baring the teeth is a natural, instinctive way that primates deal with stress and aggression. This muscle, and the TMJ generally, can get overworked or injured like any combination of joint and soft tissue. If you’ve ever felt jaw fatigue after eating something chewy, you know a bit about masseter dysfunction. Since the average person’s jaw opens and closes over 2000 times a day, this is a very active joint – especially for the talkative types! Simply put, this means it helps close your mouth. The obvious bulge you feel is the masseter.Īnatomically, the masseter moves the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), working as a major agonist for elevation of the mandible (jawbone). It is easy to palpate: just lay your fingers on either side of your jaw and gently clench your teeth. The masseter is a dense, basically rectangular muscle on either side of the face. For its size, the masseter is one of our most powerful muscles, but it’s troublesome because of the effects of stress. The masseter is one of the most crucial muscles in the human body because it allows us to chew food and thus nourish the body. Its name is derived from the Greek word masasthai, meaning “to chew”, and it forms a prominent part of the contours of the face.
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