Key Point

• Massaging the masseter—the main player in biting, chewing, and teeth grinding—can contribute to alleviating headaches.

Unconscious downward spirals are the stuff of life. Similar to how pain teaches us to appreciate the absence of pain, downward spirals shine a light on what we weren’t already aware of. They wind up being the answers behind such mysteries as “When did my wrist start bothering me?” and “What is this knot in my back doing there?” or, for the purpose of this article, “Why do I get headaches so often?”

Unraveling a downward spiral isn’t always clear. There are many reasons frequent headaches exist. One of them, though, is the existence of the only moving joint in the skull: the temporomandibular joint, more familiarly known as the jaw. There are a lot of muscles that move the jaw, allowing us to take in food, grind it down, and swallow it. The two biggest players are the temporalis and the masseter. The former is a flat, fan-like muscle that decorates the side of the skull, drops down behind the cheek bone, and hooks onto the back of the jaw. But the latter, the masseter, is the powerhouse I want to bring to center stage. 

Strongest Muscle Goes To . . . 

Known as the pound-for-pound strongest muscle in the body, the masseter is the main player in biting, chewing, teeth grinding, and jaw clenching. It wears this particular “strong man” crown for three reasons: (1) Its fibers are densely packed into that small space; (2) it’s considered a short arm lever, which means it creates a lot of pull onto the lower jaw; and (3) it’s essentially the most exercised muscle in the body. Even for those who don’t talk or eat a lot—or both—it gets used every day, in repetition, with resistance. Most of us can’t say that about the rest of our muscles. 

This force de mastication sits in the back of the cheek, lifts the jaw from the floor (also known as elevation of the mandible), and pushes the jaw forward (also known as projection of the mandible). You can see how these two actions would be advantageous for the whole chewing thing. 

You may also note, though, that your jaw can swing from side to side. And a slight deviation from alignment can beget a downward spiral of dysfunctional chewing. It can, indeed, trigger a chain of events that shares a very close relationship with pain. Thankfully our muscles are malleable and our neuroplasticity is neuroplastic. We don’t have to surgically take everything apart and start all over. 

Instead, we have massage therapy. 

Try This Exercise 

Either on yourself or with a client, place both hands on either side of your head so that your palms are just above and in front of your ears and your fingers are resting softly on the top of your head. With the base of your palm, start to compress, like you are squeezing your temples, and slide down the sides of your face until you can feel your cheek bones. Allow gravity to pull at your jaw. Don’t force your mouth open; just let your jaw be heavy. Then, slide both palms down the sides of your face at the same time.

Your jaw should naturally fall more open as you work down your masseters. You are creating a myofascial unwinding here, which, especially considering that thick aponeurotic attachment, is super important if you want to be able to sink in a little deeper. Repeat this a couple times. Don’t use any creams or lotions (or even butters), and you will start to feel the warmth of the tissues under the skin.

Once your jaw feels nice and loose, you can start to sink in a little deeper. Keep your attention to one side at a time here. Addressing tension bilaterally can be like too many phones ringing at the same time—much easier to disconnect than it is to answer them all. Use one hand as a support, keeping it flat and soft on one side of your face. And use your fingers of your opposite hand to palpate your cheekbone. Slide down into the beginnings of the masseter, about an inch down from the cheekbone and about two inches from your ear toward your nose. Now, sink in. This may be enough. Referred pain from here may extend behind the ear, into the jaw, or up into the head. Hang out with a strong but comforting pressure until that feeling fades. Then, if you feel good about it, sink in a little deeper.

If you’re feeling adventurous, keep the pressure on while you begin to slowly open your jaw. You may even want to slide that pressure down as your jaw opens. But you hold the keys to this one, so decide what feels reparative and go with that. Going with something that feels damaging is not the goal here. Repeat this until your masseter starts to feel less like steel and more like bread dough. Then, switch to the other side.

You should feel a little looser in the face. And those headaches? If you still get them, at least you have explored one downward spiral and you can check it off the list. Now, maybe we should take a look at your sternocleidomastoid.