01
Temporalis
The fan-shaped muscle over your temple. When it's overworked you get pressure behind the eyes, dull all-day headaches, and a scalp that feels tight to the touch.
- Tension headaches
- Sore temples
- Scalp tightness
TMJ + Jaw Massage · Edmonton
Life's too short to be sore.
Waking up with a tight jaw, dull headaches, or that clicking in your ear when you open wide? Your jaw's been working overtime — clenching through workouts, deadlines, and sleep. We're a results-focused massage clinic that specializes in TMJ. Let's get you back to easy.
- 4 Edmonton locations
- 60s to book online
- Yes direct billing
01 / Anatomy
Three muscles.
One stuck system.
Your jaw never works alone. It's wired into a tight chain of muscles that fire thousands of times a day — every chew, every workout, every stressful email, and every hour of sleep. When the chain locks up, foam rolling and stretching only get partway there. Here's what's actually happening, and where we focus.
02
Masseter
The thick slab at the angle of your jaw. Pound-for-pound the strongest muscle in your body. When it locks, chewing gets tiring, opening wide hurts, and your cheeks can feel fuller than usual.
- Jaw soreness on waking
- Fatigue when chewing
- Clicking on wide opening
03
Lateral Pterygoid
Deep, small, and tucked behind your upper jaw — impossible to self-treat. It's the muscle most directly tied to TMJ clicking, ear fullness, and the feeling that your bite has shifted.
- TMJ clicking / popping
- Ear fullness or ringing
- Bite feels "off"
02 / Why your usual fixes aren't holding
You're not doing it wrong —
most go-to fixes can't reach the source.
- Night guards
- Great for protecting your teeth. They don't release the muscle that's gripping them together in the first place.
- Foam rolling & stretching
- Keeps your neck and traps moving. Can't reach the masseter directly, and nothing you do from the outside reaches the pterygoid.
- General massage
- Excellent for your back. Most therapists aren't trained on the jaw specifically, and almost none work intraorally.
- Mouth-opening exercises
- Useful once the muscle is already releasing. Done on a locked-up masseter, they can actually aggravate things.
- Painkillers
- Quiet the signal for a few hours. The tension is still there tomorrow morning, and the morning after that.
03 / How a session goes
Direct, hands-on work —
built for active bodies.
No candles, no playlist, no spa script. Just specific therapeutic work on the muscles that are driving your clenching, in a sequence we've built for the bodies we treat every day.
-
Assessment
Range of motion, bite pattern, where your tension chain starts. We figure out which of the three muscles is the lead actor — and whether it started there or got recruited later.
-
Tension chain release
Suboccipitals, upper traps, SCM, scalenes. Your jaw rarely works alone, so we clear the chain first — that way the jaw work actually holds.
-
External jaw work
Direct manual therapy on the temporalis and masseter. Slow, specific pressure — not surface rubbing. You'll feel referred sensation into your ear, your teeth, your eye. That's the muscle actually letting go.
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Intraoral work (optional)
The only way to reach the lateral pterygoid. Gloved, briefed and consented before we start, brief but transformative. If you'd rather skip, we skip — the external work still does most of the job.
-
Integration & home plan
Three specific mobilizations you'll actually do. One breath cue you'll actually remember. No twelve-exercise PDF that nobody opens twice.
04 / Is this you?
Nod at three of these,
and we should talk.
- You wake with a sore jaw, tight temples, or a dull headache you can't shake
- You catch yourself clenched mid-lift, mid-run, mid-email
- Your night guard protects your teeth, but the tightness is still there
- Your traps and suboccipitals stay locked no matter how much you stretch
- You hear clicking or popping when you open wide
- Your ears feel full or ring with no audiological cause
- Chewing tougher food tires you out faster than it should
- Sleep feels shallow even when the hours are right
05 / Things people ask first
Honest answers, no jargon.
Does it hurt?
Pressure is firm and direct, but calibrated to you. There's no surprise technique — you'll know what's coming before it comes, and we stay below the threshold where your body starts to guard.
How many sessions will I need?
Most people feel a measurable difference after one. For chronic clenchers, lasting change usually takes three to five sessions over a few weeks. After that, a monthly tune-up keeps it from re-locking.
Do I have to do the intraoral work?
Never. It's the fastest way to release the lateral pterygoid, but it's always optional and always consented before we begin. Many people choose it on their second or third session, once they trust the process.
Can I train on the same day?
Yes — go a little lighter than usual. Your muscles are in a recovery state for 12–24 hours afterward. Full-intensity workouts are best the following day.
Do you direct bill insurance?
Yes — we direct bill most major Canadian insurance providers at all four locations. If you have massage therapy coverage, you'll usually pay only the difference (or nothing at all) at the end of your session.
Do I need a referral from my dentist?
No referral required. If you've been fitted for a night guard or formally diagnosed with TMD, bringing that context helps — but you can book directly.
Book
Stop waking up with a jaw
that trained harder than you did.
Book a TMJ session
Online booking · instant confirmation · direct billing · under a minute.