In short

What it is: overload of the muscles that move the jaw and of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), often from clenching or grinding your teeth (bruxism).
Main symptom: pain or tiredness in the jaw and temples, clicking when opening your mouth or difficulty opening it fully.
How we treat it: we release the jaw muscles from outside and inside the mouth, combining manual technique with the Physium so the treatment is much more bearable, and we also work on the neck.
Sessions: improvement is felt from the first; usually 2 or 3, one a week.

What jaw tension is

The jaw moves thanks to some of the most powerful muscles in the body, the chewing muscles (masseters, temporalis and pterygoids), and it joins the skull just in front of the ears, at the temporomandibular joint or TMJ.

When these muscles overwork, especially when clenching or grinding your teeth, they get overloaded, hurt and end up altering how the joint works. That's why we talk about two sides of the same problem:

Bruxism: clenching or grinding your teeth, during the day (often without realising, when you're concentrating or stressed) or at night, while you sleep.
TMJ disorder: the joint stops moving normally. Clicking, pain in front of the ear or difficulty opening your mouth fully appear.

The jaw and neck work together, so jaw tension almost always comes with neck tension, and vice versa.

Symptoms

Pain or tiredness in the jaw, especially when you wake up or after chewing.
Pain in the temples or a headache that starts at the sides.
Pain in front of the ear, sometimes mistaken for earache.
Clicking or noises when opening or closing your mouth.
Difficulty opening your mouth fully, or a jaw that shifts to one side when opening.
A feeling that the jaw locks.
Worn or sensitive teeth, if there's bruxism.
An overloaded neck and back of the neck.

Why it happens

Stress and emotional tension: it's the most common cause of bruxism. We clench our teeth without realising when we're concentrating, worried or tense.
Night-time bruxism: while you sleep you don't control how hard you clench, and the muscles start the day overloaded.
Neck tension: having your head pushed forward in front of the screen changes the position of the jaw and loads its muscles.
Habits: chewing gum, biting your nails, chewing pens or often eating very hard foods.
Dental or bite problems, which make the jaw work unevenly.
Knocks to the jaw or whiplash.

How we treat it

Finding the cause. We assess how your jaw moves, whether there's clicking or shifting when opening, and how your neck and the base of your skull are, as they're almost always part of the problem.
"Clean-up" phase: Massage. We release the chewing muscles from outside and inside the mouth. Manual treatment of the jaw, especially the inside, is usually very painful: on a scale of 1 to 10, our patients put it at around 9. That's why we combine it with the Physium System, a vacuum massage tool that lets us spare a good part of the internal work. With this combination, the discomfort drops to a 2 or 3 at most.
The neck. We also work on the cervical region and the base of the skull, because their tension keeps the jaw tension going.
Mobility. We recover the movement of the joint so the jaw opens and closes evenly again.
Exercises for home. We send you videos with relaxation exercises and exercises to control how your jaw opens.

If you've been clenching your teeth hard for a long time or the joint may be affected, we refer you to a dentist to assess a night guard.

How many sessions you'll need

Manual treatment: the improvement is felt from the first session. It's usually resolved in 2 or 3 sessions, one a week, depending on how overloaded the muscles are.
Afterwards: the video exercises help you keep your jaw relaxed and notice when you start clenching again.

If you want to know how other patients got on, you can read about their experiences in our Google reviews. Use the reviews search box and type "mandíbula".

Sound familiar? Message us on WhatsApp and we'll assess your case.

What you can do at home

Heat on your jaw and temples: 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a day. Longer can be counterproductive.
Watch your resting position: lips together, teeth apart and your tongue resting gently behind your upper teeth. If you catch yourself with your teeth together, separate them.
Avoid chewing gum and, while there's pain, very hard foods or foods that make you open your mouth wide.
We send you the exercises as videos through our app, where you also have a chat to ask us about any discomfort between sessions.

Prevention

Learn to notice when you clench your teeth during the day, especially when concentrating or at stressful moments.
Give up habits such as chewing gum, biting your nails or chewing pens.
Look after your neck posture in front of the screen.
Use your night guard if your dentist has prescribed one.
Keep up the jaw relaxation exercises.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a night guard?
A night guard is assessed and made by the dentist. It protects your teeth from wear and spreads the force when you clench, but it doesn't remove the tension in the muscles. That's why it works best combined with treatment: the guard protects and we release the muscles that have become overloaded.

My jaw clicks when I open my mouth. Is it serious?
A click without pain is fairly common and doesn't always need treatment. But if it comes with pain, difficulty opening your mouth or a feeling of locking, it indicates the joint isn't working properly and it's worth treating.

Does the treatment hurt?
Treating the jaw with hands alone can be very uncomfortable, but thanks to the combination of manual technique and Physium it goes from being one of the most uncomfortable treatments to being perfectly bearable. On the face we work very gently so as not to leave marks; only occasionally, with very sensitive skin and very tight areas, slight redness may remain. On the neck, if we work intensely, bruises may appear: they're not harmful, disappear in a few days and we always explain this to you beforehand.

When to see a doctor

Go to the emergency department if your jaw locks and you can't close or open your mouth, if the pain appears after a hard knock, or if the jaw pain comes with chest pain or tightness, pain in the left arm or shortness of breath.
See your doctor or dentist if there's swelling in your face, fever or pain in a specific back tooth.

Related

Neck pain: neck tension and jaw tension usually go hand in hand.
Tension headache from the neck: when the headache starts in the neck.

What if good... isn't good enough?

Waking up with a tired jaw isn't normal. If you want to release it, message us on WhatsApp.

Content written by the Mitra Salud team and reviewed by a registered physiotherapist (no. 12533, Col·legi de Fisioterapeutes de Catalunya). Last updated: October 2026.

Jaw injuries and conditions

Jaw tension, bruxism and TMJ