Perform an intra-oral self-massage of the medial pterygoid muscle (by pinching the muscle inside the cheek between the index finger and thumb for 1 to 2 minutes) to release jaw tension, facilitate mouth opening, and relieve the cervical area.

noli's read

The idea of relaxing the jaw muscles to regain ease is highly relevant and validated by research. A systematic review with meta-analysis by Calixtre et al. (2015) confirms that manual techniques, including intra-oral massages, significantly increase mouth opening and reduce local discomfort. Furthermore, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) by Gomes et al. (2014) shows that releasing these areas of tension provides immediate relief to the jaw. However, the direct and lasting effect on cervical pain is slightly exaggerated: although there are nerve connections between the neck and the jaw, this massage mainly offers temporary comfort rather than a comprehensive solution for the neck. Finally, precisely isolating this specific muscle without training remains difficult, but massaging the overall cheek area provides an excellent relaxing effect regardless.

the sources

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