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Jaws get held all day, often by the same hunched screen posture that pushes the head forward. Go slowly enough that nothing clicks or hurts. You may notice your hearing sharpen a little, or find voices easier to pick out of background noise, because the tiny muscles inside the ear share their wiring with the jaw.
'you were gentle in your dealings with them' (Quran 3:159), and the verse says harshness would have scattered people instead. Handle your own jaw the way you would want to be handled.
آل عمران
فَبِمَا رَحۡمَةࣲ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمۡۖ وَلَوۡ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ ٱلۡقَلۡبِ لَٱنفَضُّواْ مِنۡ حَوۡلِكَۖ فَٱعۡفُ عَنۡهُمۡ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ وَشَاوِرۡهُمۡ فِي ٱلۡأَمۡرِۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمۡتَ فَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى ٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُتَوَكِّلِينَ
By an act of mercy from God, you [Prophet] were gentle in your dealings with them- had you been harsh, or hard-hearted, they would have dispersed and left you- so pardon them and ask forgiveness for them. Consult with them about matters, then, when you have decided on a course of action, put your trust in God: God loves those who put their trust in Him
Qur’an 3:159read it in the library
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
A wide ranging review of massage research by a long standing researcher in the field lists benefits reported across many different conditions. It is a narrative summary rather than a systematic one, and the trials behind it are frequently small and impossible to blind, so read it as a map of what has been tried rather than as proof. Nothing in it tests jaw work specifically.
Field T. (2016). Massage therapy research review.. Complementary therapies in clinical practice doi
Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.
A braced jaw keeps sending a threat signal upwards, and letting it go takes the signal away.
If you have a diagnosed jaw joint problem or the movement causes pain rather than release, leave it and speak to a dentist or physiotherapist.
Talking is not the only door in. Exercise, massage, acupressure, yoga, tai chi and the rest go at the body first and let the mind follow, which is the opposite direction from most therapy.
What you started with often changes as you go. The headache becomes sadness, the irritation becomes fear. Follow the new thing rather than dragging the old one along.
Ordinary harmless sensation competes with pain on its way up. Rubbing, squeezing or stroking near a sore place gives the nerves plenty of other traffic to carry.