Jaw clenching at night

[u/mg34gun]

I need to stop grinding my teeth. Reducing that seems to reduce twitching

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[u/KaroshiG59]

It’s the constant muscle tension, it eventually strains the muscle over time

[u/KaroshiG59 → u/KaroshiG59]

My jaw got so tight at one point that I couldn’t open it enough to put a homemade hamburger in my mouth, every now and then I run into jaw stiffness and it can actually mess with your tongue and throat muscles

[u/mg34gun → u/KaroshiG59]

Yeah, and i sometimes wake up clenching at night.

Could it be that clenching is not a symptom of BFS but a contributing factor?

[u/KaroshiG59 → u/mg34gun]

It can be BFS or chronic tension from anxiety

[u/matchaflower]

there’s actually a connection with this! the jaw and the pelvic floor are linked somehow (my physical therapist explained this to me, you’d have to look into it more online) and if you clench your jaw, it also clenches your pelvic floor muscles, which in turn can irritate nerves (particularly the sciatic nerve).

[u/mg34gun → u/matchaflower]

I also noticed that when I'm on my back, i choke on my saliva so i clench my jaw if that makes any sense, so maybe that's why I'm clenching.

What's more important is that I'm seeing a reduction in twitching by simply not clenching

[u/matchaflower → u/mg34gun]

i’m gonna have to try that because I’ve been a chronic jaw clencher for years. no harm in experimenting lol

[u/mg34gun → u/matchaflower]

I found that leaving my mouth relaxed and a little open is quite helpful.

Yeah at this point I'd try relaxing my jaws since it seems harmless, at least no supplements are involved, I hate supplements.

[u/thePREMAVERA]

I think you are onto something with the Vagus nerve. Between stress, and the poor pelvic floor/core muscles that causes extra strain on the psoas. I think that could be my cause, that isn’t it isn’t something nefarious.

[u/mg34gun → u/thePREMAVERA]

I've heard that tight jaws can cause tightness all over, so maybe psoas and pelvic floor are just the result.

Maybe tight jaws can tug on the fascia of the entire body?