More and more our society is looking for the "silver bullet" of health. Every second TV ad suggests a drug to "fix" any health condition imaginable. Wouldn't it be great if your body could indicate its level of health and function? It can! This article explains the significance of your jaw, how a simple self-test can indicate your functional status and what you can do to achieve "true health".
Move your jaw side to side in a sawing action. Did it pop or click on one side? Can you move it more to one side than the other? Are you unable to fit your four fingers stacked vertically (no overlapping!) in your mouth? When you bite down does one side contact before the other? Chances are you tested positive in one or more of these tests for jaw imbalance and if you did, you need to read on!
The jaw joint or the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can be a source of discomfort for many people. TMJ Disorder (TMJD) or TMJ Syndrome and has been associated with a wide variety of other symptoms, some far removed from the jaw itself, for example chronic headaches, sinus problems, visual disturbances, ringing and pain in the ears, facial pain, tingling and numbness in the fingers and even low back pain.
Even more interestingly, TMJD has been associated with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and depression. Scientists and medical studies have been unable to explain the connection of TMJD to such a wide variety of dysfunctional conditions affecting both body and mind.
This may be because "scientists" overlook two indisputable facts when they look at human health.
First, the body and mind are one - a single unit linked together from head to toe via joints, muscle and connective tissue called fascia (remember the song, "The leg bone connected to the knee bone..."?).
Second, form follows function. So any "weak links" that cause structural imbalance in one part of the body will transfer throughout the body, decreasing its form and therefore its entire function also. For example, compensating for a broken toe may eventually work its way up to the neck and yes, even the jaw.
To be truly healthy is to have good function, which dictates that your form or posture must be good also. The pain, the symptoms associated with TMJD and even the TMJD itself are simply manifestations of dyfunction resulting from postural imbalance.
So why is the jaw a good example to demonstrate your level of health and function? Because it is highest joint in the body and the last area your body can compensate for postural imbalances transferring up from lower down. Also since the jaw is linked to the skull, we can easily discern dysfunction like muscle tightness, pain, popping or clicking.
Another reason to test the jaw is because the alignment of the mandible (jaw bone) can affect the pituitary gland in the brain. The pituitary gland is considered "the master gland" and is chiefly responsible for maintaining your body in a healthy, internally balanced state called homeostasis.
Lets trace the links to the pituitary. Keep reading and you'll learn the secret to "true health".
The mandible is connected to a bone in your skull called the sphenoid with muscles called the medial and lateral pterygoids. The sphenoid houses the pituitary gland in a small depression called the sella turcica. So any structural imbalance in the TMJ from strength differences in the pterygoids will transfer structural imbalance to the sphenoid, which will then compromise the function of the pituitary and homeostasis.
Now it might be easy to think that if you can correct the imbalance in the jaw with a bite plate or some surgical procedure you would fix the TMJD and be as healthy as a horse right? Wrong! This approach is doomed to fail because the jaw is also linked to the shoulders and sternum.
The mandible is connected to the shoulders and sternum via a bone just above the level of the Adam's apple called the hyoid bone. The hyoid is a "floating bone" and unlike any other bone in the body in that it does not contact other bones; rather it is suspended above and below by muscles. Its main function is to act as an anchor for the muscles that connect the mandible to the hyoid. These muscles are called suprahyoid muscles and act to open or pull the mandible down.
But wait! Muscles called the infrahyoid muscles connect the hyoid to both shoulder blades and the sternum. Their function is to anchor the hyoid in a level, "neutral" position, which is difficult because any unevenness in shoulders height or slouching will unbalance the hyoid and therefore the jaw and pituitary.
The shoulders and upper back are you guessed it, connected to the lower back and pelvis, which will only be as balanced as the "core" muscles allows them to be. The core is a system of muscles in the trunk and hip region like the glutes (butt) and abdominals that act as the body's foundation by stabilizing the pelvis and low back.
The jaw tests you tried earlier can now be looked at as indicators of the status of your core since all posture and function originates here.
So now the jaw reveals it's secret: "True health can only be achieved when the strength of the muscles of the core is balanced and the posture realigned.
Is it possible that to thrive both physically and mentally could be this simple?
Yes! We like complicated things and to make things complicated. We have been conditioned to think that complicated drugs and surgery are the answer to our health problems. They're not.
That being said restoring balance to the core is not easy. Here's why.
Your brain like all animals is hardwired for survival so it favors using mobilizing muscles that cause gross movement to move your body out of danger. Stabilizing muscles like the core muscles are less likely to be favored and more likely to become weaker since they oppose movement.
The mobilizing muscles now have to work overtime. They compensate by tightening since they have to perform their own function plus that of the weak stabilizing muscles too. Compensating muscles cannot perform both jobs effectively so muscle strength and length imbalances develop causing postural imbalances. A classic example is the hamstring muscles tightening in response to gluteus maximus weakness.
Compensation is a great technique to help you run away from a hungry lion but complicates things when you try to access the root problem of core weakness. So it doesn't matter how much "core training" you do, you will most likely just strengthen the tight mobilizing muscles and engrain the imbalances even more - like driving your car with bad wheel alignment.
So what is the solution to accessing the weak core muscles and reestablishing the body's function? Wouldn't it be great if there were some technique that could "activate" and strengthen the weak core muscles?
The good news is there is a technique called Myotonix that does exactly that. It is a form of manual therapy based on the principles and techniques of acupressure, osteopathy and trigger point therapy and to improve posture. The results are instantaneous and astounding.
This article has highlighted the significance of jaw function as an indicator of whole body function and how dysfunction in any one part of the body affects the whole. Total body health will only be realized when we recognize the connection of our form to our function. So with this knowledge, the next time you go to your dentist you can tell him the health secret of his jaw!
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