Just like everywhere in your body, you want muscles and joints in your neck and jaw to be able to move through their full range of motion. This allows for good movement variability and resting position. If a muscle or joint has limited motion, this can affect its resting position which then affects other attaching muscles and where you drive movement from.
There is a small bone in the front of your neck called your hyoid bone. It is a free-floating bone that does not articulate with any other bone, making it greatly affected by muscular movement and tension. Generally speaking, your suprahyoid muscles connect from your hyoid to your jaw and to your skull. You then have infrahyoid muscles that connect from your hyoid to your collarbone.
The position and mobility of your jaw muscles can affect your neck.
To keep it simple, the muscles on the front side of your neck need to be able to lengthen in order for your neck to extend. If they can’t lengthen, then you might compensate at another part of your spine to gain the range of motion. It can also affect the resting position of your hyoid, which then affects other attaching muscles.
Tightness in these muscles can affect jaw and tongue positioning, which can affect occlusion, breathing, and even what’s happening in your pelvic floor. Conversely, neck mobility and positioning and breathing can affect your jaw and tongue.
The plot thickens even more when we start to look at how the rib cage, scapula, pelvis, and even foot mechanics can affect the head, and vice versa. 🐔🥚
Did you find that your neck range of motion changed with your mouth position? Did you find it changed after the release? And you’re asking yourself, “now what?”
I’d start by taking a look at how you breathe and how your shoulders move.
Did you know I teach online:
Online Continuing Education for Fitness and Health Professionals
PCES - Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist
www.coreexercisesolutions.com/postpartum-corrective-exercise-specialist/
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