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What Is Facial Fitness Ball?
Your quest to get and remain fit is, generally, a good thing. But there is also a point at which it can cease being beneficial and become a danger to your health.Too much exercise can lead to injury.
And that’s exactly what you might be facing if you decide to follow the exercise regimen recommended by Facial Fitness Ball. The Facial Fitness Ball routine, intended to help you condition your jaw, could actually lead to serious wear and trauma to the jaw joint. Instead, you should talk to a neuromuscular dentist if you are looking to make your jaw stronger and/or more functional.
A young woman working out at a gym
What Is Facial Fitness Ball?
Facial Fitness Ball is a simple device. It’s basically a hard rubber ball, fitted with silicone bite parts. These bite parts can be sort of customized to your teeth using boil-and-bite techniques.
You’re supposed to use the Facial Fitness Ball system for 20 to 30 minutes a day, repeatedly biting down on it. Supposedly, this gives your jaw nearly 300 pounds resistance. That’s about 10 times the force required to chew crunchy foods like carrots, so you’re working your jaw hard during these exercises.
The Claims of Facial Fitness Ball
Facial Fitness Ball makes many claims on its website about the benefits you can achieve if you use the device, but it’s important to remember that none of them have been scientifically verified. Instead, the weight of the evidence is put into testimonials, where people claim that using the device leads to:
Improved facial appearance with greater bulk
Facial rejuvenation
Better jaw function
Relief from TMJ symptoms
Stronger neck muscles
The website claims that these benefits come from bulking up the muscles in the jaw, which improves your facial appearance by adding volume, which can help you look younger. The theory is also that stimulating blood flow into the region leads to great collagen production, which may also have a rejuvenating effect.
And, the website claims, if you make your jaw muscles stronger, you can stop TMJ symptoms.
Why Facial Fitness Ball Could Be Damaging
The human jaw is capable of performing its functions efficiently over a lifetime. But suddenly putting too much strain on the jaw could lead to serious damage.
The amount of stress that doing this type exercise will put on your jaw joint could damage the joint itself. It could lead to significant wear on the cushioning disc or displace the disc, which can lead to jaw popping and clicking. The amount of effort you’d be putting into Facial Fitness Ball is comparable to the amount experienced by bruxers. With the cushioning of the Facial Fitness Ball unit, you won’t damage your teeth, but there’s nothing protecting your jaw joints.
It is a mistake to believe that too-weak muscles are causing your TMJ. In fact, it’s common for people with TMJ to have overdeveloped jaw muscles. These jaw muscles develop as a result of parafunctional habits like jaw clenching, nail biting, and others that have very similar force profiles to theFacial Fitness Ball.
This is not to say that no one could benefit from this type of exercise. Some people probably would see benefits, but for most people the risk is greater than the reward. To find out which group you belong to, you want to talk to a neuromuscular dentist before starting this or any other type of jaw exercise.
Healthy Jaw Exercises
What distinguishes healthy jaw exercises from this type of damaging jaw exercise is the emphasis on gentle conditioning, not extreme stress. If you are looking to strengthen your jaw, start with moderate pressure. First, you can try putting a thumb under your chin and use it as resistance against opening your jaw. Or, with your mouth open, you can put your index finger between your teeth and lower lip. Then try to close your jaw as you press against your teeth. Doing this will help you develop your jaw muscles to the point that you won’t need to worry about the strength of your jaw muscles–and you won’t stress your jaw joints.
And that’s exactly what you might be facing if you decide to follow the exercise regimen recommended by Facial Fitness Ball. The Facial Fitness Ball routine, intended to help you condition your jaw, could actually lead to serious wear and trauma to the jaw joint. Instead, you should talk to a neuromuscular dentist if you are looking to make your jaw stronger and/or more functional.
A young woman working out at a gym
What Is Facial Fitness Ball?
Facial Fitness Ball is a simple device. It’s basically a hard rubber ball, fitted with silicone bite parts. These bite parts can be sort of customized to your teeth using boil-and-bite techniques.
You’re supposed to use the Facial Fitness Ball system for 20 to 30 minutes a day, repeatedly biting down on it. Supposedly, this gives your jaw nearly 300 pounds resistance. That’s about 10 times the force required to chew crunchy foods like carrots, so you’re working your jaw hard during these exercises.
The Claims of Facial Fitness Ball
Facial Fitness Ball makes many claims on its website about the benefits you can achieve if you use the device, but it’s important to remember that none of them have been scientifically verified. Instead, the weight of the evidence is put into testimonials, where people claim that using the device leads to:
Improved facial appearance with greater bulk
Facial rejuvenation
Better jaw function
Relief from TMJ symptoms
Stronger neck muscles
The website claims that these benefits come from bulking up the muscles in the jaw, which improves your facial appearance by adding volume, which can help you look younger. The theory is also that stimulating blood flow into the region leads to great collagen production, which may also have a rejuvenating effect.
And, the website claims, if you make your jaw muscles stronger, you can stop TMJ symptoms.
Why Facial Fitness Ball Could Be Damaging
The human jaw is capable of performing its functions efficiently over a lifetime. But suddenly putting too much strain on the jaw could lead to serious damage.
The amount of stress that doing this type exercise will put on your jaw joint could damage the joint itself. It could lead to significant wear on the cushioning disc or displace the disc, which can lead to jaw popping and clicking. The amount of effort you’d be putting into Facial Fitness Ball is comparable to the amount experienced by bruxers. With the cushioning of the Facial Fitness Ball unit, you won’t damage your teeth, but there’s nothing protecting your jaw joints.
It is a mistake to believe that too-weak muscles are causing your TMJ. In fact, it’s common for people with TMJ to have overdeveloped jaw muscles. These jaw muscles develop as a result of parafunctional habits like jaw clenching, nail biting, and others that have very similar force profiles to theFacial Fitness Ball.
This is not to say that no one could benefit from this type of exercise. Some people probably would see benefits, but for most people the risk is greater than the reward. To find out which group you belong to, you want to talk to a neuromuscular dentist before starting this or any other type of jaw exercise.
Healthy Jaw Exercises
What distinguishes healthy jaw exercises from this type of damaging jaw exercise is the emphasis on gentle conditioning, not extreme stress. If you are looking to strengthen your jaw, start with moderate pressure. First, you can try putting a thumb under your chin and use it as resistance against opening your jaw. Or, with your mouth open, you can put your index finger between your teeth and lower lip. Then try to close your jaw as you press against your teeth. Doing this will help you develop your jaw muscles to the point that you won’t need to worry about the strength of your jaw muscles–and you won’t stress your jaw joints.