Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68178
THE TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT, PART 2 By wrapping your fingertips around the inferior border of the jaw, gently release the anterior bellies of the digastrics and the floor of mouth by working in a posterior direction. Use your client's slow, active protrusion to slide the digastrics through your touch. Feel for tightness on the same side of any jaw deviation. Optionally, add active opening (mandibular depression). Continue working posteriorly as far as the hyoid bone (the place the structures of the neck meet the floor of the mouth). Be detailed and thorough, but use caution around the glands in this area: stay on muscle and connective tissue. While aligned jaw motion is crucial to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) health, ("The Temporomandibular Joint, Part 1," Massage & Bodywork, July/August 2009, page 110). This time, we'll focus on the digastric ("two-bellied") muscles also play an important role in jaw alignment and balanced motion. [You can see video of these techniques and tests by visiting Massage & Bodywork's digital edition, which features a video clip from the 2009 DVD "Advanced Myofascial Techniques for the Neck, Jaw, and Head" from Advanced-Trainings.com.] The link is available on ABMP.com and Massageandbodywork.com. connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 121