Jaw & Neck tension

[Jersey Jack]

Anyone have any suggestions for loosening the jaw? This is a particular problem for me. I also get tense in the neck.

 

I do things like yanking my jaw up and down and back and forth, but it seems that I never do get rid of the tension.

 

Any advice???

[WowieZowie]

I carry stress in my neck, not jaw.

 

But, as a non doctor, I would say that it could be emanating from a few different sources, and finding the source would seem to be a logical way to remedy the problem.

 

Hereditary: Get xrays of jaw (looking for TMJ) and xray of neck (looking for any disk compression) If anything shows up in the xray, then your actions may be adding stress to an existing issue. I have a compressed disk in my neck, so if I use a guitar strap, it puts pressure on the disk, inflaming the area, and causes my fingers to tingle and go numb. So, I sit and play guitar without a strap.

 

Diatary: Coffee, or some other food making you more tense. Some people are more effected by stimulents than others. I read what you wrote in my food thread, so I don't really think that that is an issue for you, but it is worth an inspection.

 

Actions: And of course this has to do with what you do during the day, AND how you sleep during the night. Do you have a good pillow? Do you sleep on your side, with your neck and jaw in a comfortable position? Do some research on this because it is at night that we heal. If you are only adding to issues at night, then you are really not going to get rid of the pain and stress. Further, is your bed a good bed? Does it support you the way it should? They make some really good products now, and it is worth looking into.

 

Playing guitar, and singing is not easy. You are most certainly putting stress on neck, shoulders, and this could express itself in your jaw. The whole area could be effected is what I am saying. As I have said, I sit down and play now. I just bought one of those classical guitar foot stools, and I am going to see if it can help with my ease of play.

 

Does your guitar fit you? This has a lot to do with strain in your shoulders. For me, I am a small dude. (5'4") I can't play a dreadnaught, or a jumbo. I love the sound of them, and I have owned countless examples. But I now know that I must play smaller bodied guitars to ensure that I don't hurt my shoulders, or put stress on my back and neck.

 

Are you taking enough breaks? Get a strict routine and don't vary. Play for 45min, and take a 10 minute break. No excuses.

 

The stretches that you are doing, are they helping or hurting the area? If it is skeletal, then you are not helping much doing stretches. You are actually exacerbating the issue.

 

Exercising: Are you doing it too much, or not enough. I was doing all kinds of pullups because I saw that last Rocky movie, and decided that it was a great way for me to stay in combat ready shape. I had to stop playing guitar for about three months. Finally I figured out that those things were hurting me.

 

Psychological: Too much stress in your mind. I am not going to go into this, but I am sure you know what I mean. This has a huge effect on jaw tension, and neck and back tension.

 

Hope this helps. Probably seems like tooo long a list of possibilities. But, I really had to check them all out.

[SevenString]

There's a thread about tension and similar problems here:

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2106365

 

I think some of the tips are applicable to jaw and neck tension as well. It's all about breaking those bad habits. Unfortunately, if you have sung with tension for a long time, those habits can take a longer time to break, but doing so is certainly worth the effort.

 

Up until about 4 or 5 years ago, I had sung for decades with a lot of tension that I didn't even realize that I had.

 

Then a great voice teacher (plug: James Lugo) got me on a path to breaking those bad habits, and now my consistently useable range has opened up dramatically, and my voice never gets tired anymore, even after hours of singing.

 

But the real benefits for me personally are that I enjoy singing a lot more, AND I never have to worry if I'm "on" or not. My full range is there for me 100% of the time, and that leads to more confidence, leading to being more relaxed, and so on in a really healthy feedback loop.