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Purpose: This study was aimed to examine the effectiveness of a high-speed jaw-opening exercise, which targets the contraction of fast-twitch muscle fibers, in improving swallowing function.
Subjects and methods: Twenty-one subjects (mean age 74.0±5.7 years) with dysphagia-related symptoms, such as coughing or choking during eating, performed the exercise. None of the included subjects had neurological symptoms or history of surgery that could cause significant dysphagia. All subjects took regular meals, and maintained independent activities of daily life. The exercise schedule consisted of 3 sets of 20 repetitions each of rapid and maximum jaw-opening movement with a 10-second interval between sets. The exercise was performed twice daily for 4 weeks.
Results: Following the intervention, there was a significant increase in the vertical position of the hyoid bone at rest. Furthermore, during swallowing, the elevation of the hyoid bone and the velocity of its movement and esophageal sphincter opening increased significantly while the duration of the hyoid elevation and the pharyngeal transit time reduced significantly.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that high-speed jaw-opening exercise resulted in increased elevation velocity of the hyoid bone during swallowing, indicating its role in effectively strengthening the fast-twitch muscle fibers of suprahyoid muscles. Furthermore, since the rest position of the hyoid bone appeared to have improved, this exercise may be especially useful in elderly individuals with a lower position of the hyoid bone at rest and those with decreased elevation of the hyoid bone during swallowing, which are known to be associated with an increased risk of aspiration.
Seems like the good stuff. I will practice and report back in time.
Interesting exercise. Just one note of caution, anyone with any history of tmj clicking, pain, etc should be careful trying it. This exercise puts a load on the tmj when the mouth is full opened especially fast.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
How would the exercise benefit us mewers in particular? Also what is the benefit of a higher hyoid bone resting position?
From what I understand it would increase swallowing force and allow more food to be swallowed at a time?
you hyoid bone (and its surrounding muscles) are chiefly responsible for keeping the root of your tongue up. higher resting + activation distance/velocity means that you are going to have more consistent and powerful contact with the posterior third of the tongue against the rear palate.
it's your hyoid that raises when you swallow. many believe there is a lot of benefit in exercising the hyoid group until you can keep it all the time
I think the obvious benefit of improving the height of the hyoid bone would mean less double chin. When you mew using the whole tongue, you move the hyoid bone up like krollic said. This is what causes immediate improvements to the jaw, or rather, the "double chin" beneath the jaw.
In theory, if you could move the hyoid bone up (like this study claims is possible) you should be able to improve double chin, even at rest and not just while mewing.
You know, I'm starting to think chewing and open mouth chewing are extremely important, just like body and neck posture. That the reason why most people don't see results is because they don't incorporate and fully follow through with the many parts of orthotropics that are the building blocks you use to make your "mewing" work. Even then, only putting your tongue in the correct position and making zero other changes is obviously going to have less of an effect than incorporating all these lifestyle changes as well as mewing.
I read this piece yesterday, AstroSky put a link on it on Youtube.
When you mew using the whole tongue, you move the hyoid bone up like krollic said
This doesn't happen to me, quite the opposite. My under-chin area looks worse when I put thhe tongue on my palate. 🤒
@greekgodbrody sounds like the pretty classic and #1 mewing mistake; you have the mid-tongue pushing up and causing the under-chin/jaw area to bulge but you aren't raising the posterior third of the tongue against your soft palate, which I believe is critical to mew properly.
you need to raise the root of the tongue aka hyoid. it goes up when you do a swallow. you should notice that it cuts of your nasal airways when you do it
can you link me the comment chain where astro posted it? cheers
yeah, it's great advice. i've only been doing this exercise for about half a week now and I can already sense an improvement in strength in my hyoid. combine it w/ exaggerated chin-tuck swallows to really build up its power. you should really feel an ache in the tongue root when you do it
you can also stretch the back of the tongue to give it more reach
an advanced exercise you can try later is when you chin-tuck, manually raise the tongue root to the rear palate, suction it there and then pull down on the hyoid. it stretches out the tongue root from top to bottom and feels like you're pulling on a rubberband. it's a nice feeling. i wonder if it helps too elongate the tongue root.
@greekgodbrody sounds like the pretty classic and #1 mewing mistake; you have the mid-tongue pushing up and causing the under-chin/jaw area to bulge but you aren't raising the posterior third of the tongue against your soft palate, which I believe is critical to mew properly.
you need to raise the root of the tongue aka hyoid. it goes up when you do a swallow. you should notice that it cuts of your nasal airways when you do it
can you link me the comment chain where astro posted it? cheers
I just realized that until now, only my mid-tongue was really up touching the palate and not the posterior third. Because I definitely feel something different in 2 situations:
So, all in all, I wasn't entirely mewing as I should, which should explain the very slow progress I've experienced.
Even though, I definitely have more room on the palate than 6 months ago, let's sayl.
This is frustrating on one side, but on the other side, it's great that I've identified my mistake and can correct that.
I now have a clear direction in which I need to focus on in my MEWING journey. I try to consciously push my tongue as far up as possible. Not gonna lie, it's difficult. But I think I am doing it right, because my airway gets somewhat obstructed when doing it.
However, even when doing this, my hyoid doesn't go up much. Hmmm.. 🙁 🙁
And, to touch on a side note: I think my tongue is very long. Because if I spread it out of the mouth as far as possible, half of its length is sittting outside the mouth.
When mewing, I put my tip of the tongue just before the front teeth. Doing so, since my tongue is so long, the posterior third should be touching my neck, it's too long.
With regards to being cautious about this exercise if you have TMJ/clicking issues. I wonder if that problem can be avoided by jutting the mandible a little. I have clicking when chewing because my mandible is ever so slightly recessed. When I jut just 1-2mm, the clicking stops. So I'm wondering if it's safe for me to do this exercise while jutting, and if it's as effective.
With regards to being cautious about this exercise if you have TMJ/clicking issues. I wonder if that problem can be avoided by jutting the mandible a little. I have clicking when chewing because my mandible is ever so slightly recessed. When I jut just 1-2mm, the clicking stops. So I'm wondering if it's safe for me to do this exercise while jutting, and if it's as effective.
When you do that you release the entrapment of the mandibular condyles from the tmj, but introduce another problem: stretching the muscles and ligaments holding the mandible beyond their natural position.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
With regards to being cautious about this exercise if you have TMJ/clicking issues. I wonder if that problem can be avoided by jutting the mandible a little. I have clicking when chewing because my mandible is ever so slightly recessed. When I jut just 1-2mm, the clicking stops. So I'm wondering if it's safe for me to do this exercise while jutting, and if it's as effective.
When you do that you release the entrapment of the mandibular condyles from the tmj, but introduce another problem: stretching the muscles and ligaments holding the mandible beyond their natural position.
Why is this a problem, if you don't mind me asking?
So as I understand it, this exercise involves simply opening the mouth as fast as possible and closing it again every 2 seconds 20 times per set, with 3 sets resting 10 seconds between sets, repeated twice daily. It reminds me a little of the Talabya Kriya exercise which also involves repeatedly opening and closing the mouth, but adds clicking the tongue on the roof of the mouth and then extending the tongue out until it touches the chin. Talabya Kriya is supposed to help lengthen the tongue and release the lingual frenulum, but I wonder if it would also raise the hyoid bone like the exercise in the article.
Why is this a problem, if you don't mind me asking?
Any time you jut the lower jaw forward repeatedly as he is suggesting or hold it in that position for a while you are stretching the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Those hold the mandible in the correct position relative to the tmj. If they become over stretched the mandible will start moving excessively within the tmj and possibly dislocate.
This is what happened to Ronald Ead. He and his dentist kept advancing the lower jaw forward faster than the tmj can remodel until it dislocated.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
Why is this a problem, if you don't mind me asking?
Any time you jut the lower jaw forward repeatedly as he is suggesting or hold it in that position for a while you are stretching the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Those hold the mandible in the correct position relative to the tmj. If they become over stretched the mandible will start moving excessively within the tmj and possibly dislocate.
This is what happened to Ronald Ead. He and his dentist kept advancing the lower jaw forward faster than the tmj can remodel until it dislocated.
Surely that doesn't mean that jutting is bad per se though - it could just mean that you shouldn't jut too much. There was a very lengthy article posted here a while ago about TMJ and condyles, and the author (who I believe works in that field) prescribes jutting 1-2mm to her TMJ patients, in order to release the condyles and allow them to start remodeling, which they won't do as long as they're jammed back in the recessed position. And as I understand it, when you jut for long enough, the muscle takes on a new resting position.
Surely that doesn't mean that jutting is bad per se though - it could just mean that you shouldn't jut too much. There was a very lengthy article posted here a while ago about TMJ and condyles, and the author (who I believe works in that field) prescribes jutting 1-2mm to her TMJ patients, in order to release the condyles and allow them to start remodeling, which they won't do as long as they're jammed back in the recessed position. And as I understand it, when you jut for long enough, the muscle takes on a new resting position.
I don't think I have seen that article, but it's possible she is jutting the jaw forward as part of a therapy with an orthotic or something. In order for the tmj to remodel it needs to be held in a new position for a while, much longer than conscious jaw jutting can achieve.
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
https://treningogrehab.no/true-cause-solution-temporomandibular-dysfunction-tmd/
@Abdulrahman Here's the link. What do you think?
With regards to being cautious about this exercise if you have TMJ/clicking issues. I wonder if that problem can be avoided by jutting the mandible a little. I have clicking when chewing because my mandible is ever so slightly recessed. When I jut just 1-2mm, the clicking stops. So I'm wondering if it's safe for me to do this exercise while jutting, and if it's as effective.
From what I understand, "clicking" in this situation is not too bad for the TMJs. It is when your lower jaw lack forward forward movement / forward positioning, the "disk" between the condyle and the upper bone don't move smoothly and cause a "pop" when it finally get into its normal position. But as far as I know, it is not painful and/or dangerous. (From my dentist, since I have the same problem. She said it was totally normal for me).
So yeah when you jut your mandible forward, you already make your "disk" slip into its right position, thus there is no "click" and it might even be easier for you to open your jaw widely.
What I am wondering tho, if like me you have a lack of "forward movement" of the jaw when you open it. I know I have that since the "class 2 occlusion looking" is accentuated when I open my mouth, it's like the mandible is receding backward; whereas in most healthy people the jaw seem to "move forward" as they open their mouth, keeping an almost equal "lateral distance" (as X distance) between their upper and lower incisors.
That is the normal movement; the jaw not only move down when opening your mouth, but also juts forward.
I "know" that the muscles involved in this natural (and not-conscious) movement are the Pterygoids, mainly the medial (?) I think.
I wrote "know" because it's only theory and it is still not totally concluant for myself - I'm still training. So, for some reasons, people as you and me lack functional pterygoid usage, and maybe training them could get us back a normal jaw opening and reduce clicking and who knows, remodle the jaw a little.
And the main post is of course very interesting, the hyoid bone placement seem to have some really important functions in aesthetic and function. Imma keep training.
Where are the hyoid maxxers at and how you've been doing
Where are the hyoid maxxers at and how you've been doing
I'm thinking the Hyoid is part of a connection between the jaw and the cranial base. So yes, hyoid activation is certainly going to be key for growth. Will have to elaborate on this more, but I think everyone was correct to put specific focus on the hyoid.
Where are the hyoid maxxers at and how you've been doing
I'm thinking the Hyoid is part of a connection between the jaw and the cranial base. So yes, hyoid activation is certainly going to be key for growth. Will have to elaborate on this more, but I think everyone was correct to put specific focus on the hyoid.
I would agree. First, there's an obvious aesthetic advantage to a well placed (= tonic ?) hyoid bone. Second, it's directly connected to the tongue.
I discovered that the tongue is more easily put on the roof when I shrug my shoulders. I researched it and found the omohyoid muscles connecting the upper part of the scapulas to the hyoid ! Too low shoulders (and thus scapula) are a thing, especially found in bad posture (scapula is depressed compared to its normal level between T2 and T7).
Basically it all revolves around gravity: structures being too depressed, pulling their upper connected part to the ground. By training the hyoid to be more up, against gravity, and upper traps, to suppress downward forces, might be a big part of the puzzle regarding having proper posture to maintain adequate dynamic forces and development
