A common cause of TMD: Suprahyoid muscle clenching 

This is a super informative video. I actually watched it twice to make sure I wasnt missing anything. Totally makes sence. And your right correcting your posture isnt easy but if your constant you notice results. Thankyou for making this xxx

Thank you so much!!! You made the nature of my issue with my jaw clear and gave me the means to alleviate it. I can't thank you enough!

Thank you so much for this. It helps me to understand what I'm going through. I appreciate it.

Thank you! This was extremely helpful.

This is great advice!!! You should definitely try getting the word out to more physicians.

Wow! I tried this yesterday and I didn't wake up clenched today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and jaw.

you are life saver! trying to discribe this to doctors for years to no avail

Thank u for this video. I've spent alot of time loafing around playing video games. Been haveing some jaw clenching dreams to. Woke up and my muscles the ones you describe where swollen and sore. I now know to relax and change my position while loafing around.

this is gold!!! thank you for all of your work... everything you have shared with the world is priceless really thank you. I have clenched my whole life apparently alot of anxiety etc. I have became aware of it and it has been helping. I plan on learning from you my friend. Blessings!

This is a superb video. It is rare to find physiotherapy instruction that is so precise.

Yes! I've found myself clenching my jaw for no reason. This explains it perfectly!

my digastric and others under jaw always tight, and i have chronic headaches, and grind at night. thank you for this. very insightful.

Great info, thank you!

This is so informative. Thank you. ❤️

I didn't understand many terms but i think you covered the topic I was looking for

This gave me a HUGE BREAKTHROUGH in my professional singing!!! Thank you so much!!

thank you for this informative video, it has helped me in my journey to improve whats left of my posture

Thank you for this.

finally an explanation. thank you

thank you for this help!!

Thank you. Can you please make a simple “how to fix” follow up to this? With clear showing of the treatment

Thank you! You're a lifesaver! I have been trying to figure out why my SCM is clenched up and feels tight. TMJ for sure.

You are the only one addressing swallowing issues related to neck muscles tensing up! I might need to book a skype appointment with you if my PT failed to fix this issue. Havent eaten a proper meal in 3 months and I am desperate for a solution

Very helpful!

Very interesting video! Thank you for making it. Is there a relation also with mouth breathing?

Thank you! During lockdown and a lot more computerwork (I'm a teacher) I've developed pain just alongside my Adams apple on one side when i swallow. This has to be it - thank you!

Whats the best sleep position for such problems ? Somehow i keep clencing the muscles or tension them up(whatever it actually is) when i sleep. A physical therapy guy noticed that my tongue muscles, general throat muscles are tensioned up, was there becuase of tmj but my jaw muscles arent actually the issue.

I have had this for decades and this is the first video that has been able to put a name to It. Do you have any recommendations of where I can find help for this in the US? Thank you!!!

This is the first explanation of this I have ever seen.

yes how to fix follow up would be nice please, i think i have same problem dont know what to do. thanks in advance.

this was highly informative and beneficial, thank you for sharing your field specific knowledge with us. subscribed and hope you post new videos unless that isn't of your interest anymore, all in all, great quality content.

it is well explained thanks

You said the hyoid might be lower if they are tight? Wouldn't it be higher because they are above the hyoid and contracting would raise it?

Thanku sir u r really great u helped to found out my real prblm 🙌 plz continue to do these good works nd plz make more videos on topics

I know everything this guy is saying in this video is true because I've been doing exactly what he's describing. Compensating just like this ever since I got problems with my upper cervical spine! And it has snowballed into a huge variety of different problems around my face, jaw etc

Genius !

I've been undergoing tmj treatment and as a result this muscle started getting tight. Good to know that I should pull the muscle up.

Amazing. Thank you for explaining. I've had a clicking throat when I swallow for the past 6 months (and a sensation of tightness / narrow gullet for several years before this). I'm also experiencing trouble with swallowing / food getting stuck in the throat, often. I have to twist my neck to the side in order to get it down! I recently had a scan that ruled out anything sinister - thank goodness. What you say totally makes sense. I have an old neck injury, and I must be holding my head/neck/jaw in a way that helps to "stabilise" against the old injury too. I have been told in the recent past that my muscles around the front of the neck and shoulders are tight. I hold a lot of tension. I am aware of it myself. When I do bother to make myself mindful of my posture, I realise that I'm holding my jaw clenched - probably almost all the time. I also tend to hold my arms and shoulders tight too. It's something I'll have to work on releasing from now on, that's for sure! I'm sure anxiety and stress play a large part in it too. No doctor I've seen has discussed this with me. A chiropractor was the only person who got near mentioning that I hold tension here. But didn't go into the detail of the muscles involved, like what you have done. Thank you again for your time and explanation. I will try the exercise, and I feel positive about the results to come!!

Long neck position everyone while not clenching muscle under chine and lern to relax! thanks msk doc.

awesome

I am neurological diagnosed with dystonia affecting the suprahyoid muscles which is very painful. The muscle tonus is measured with EMG and is treated with botox which gives relief for about 3 months before the next injection. However, when opening my jaw the left mandible deviates and makes a little S. I also cannot decompress the left ear since I am not able to move the left mandible fully back in order to make the decompression. The right mandible is perfectly movable in all angles supports decompression. I now wonder if I have the right diagnosis of classical dystonia or is the high muscle tonus of the syprahyoid muscles due to other causes? What should I do to investigate this matter further? I live in Sweden.

Thank you - can you do some exercises?

Thank you and I broke my jaw and all my teeth on the hood of a car and this is a problem area. Had to get the teeth removed and have the habit of clenching from tmj.

In Short : Straight posture but don't contract the area under mouth, right ?

Can neck strain due to excessive exercise cause throat issues. Cause I have few symptoms similar to these. Throat tightness, swallowing issue, jaw tightness anxiety and stress, slight tingling in neck. Facing this from past 6 months. I have gone through multiple ENT doctor, they say there is no issue in throat.

Can this cause stabbing throat pains and globus sensation? Also is there any correlation with TMJ and Gerd? Thanks for the video.

You said there’s another video explaining how to strengthen the weak muscle? I tend to clench in my sleep so it’s quite difficult to remedy. The posture I can more easily work on rn

Man we need more people like you on this earth.. went to a chiropractic and said my lymph nodes are swollen and i must have some infection in my body fighting… when i explained to him about calpal tunnel syndrome and my suprahyoid clicking all the time 🤦‍♂️ its just lowered hyoid bone..

Cool to see someone proffesional talk about this, I've been seeing a lot of videos on tounge postiure and neck excersises lateley on RU-vid, for aesthetic purposes. Reducing doubble chin, slimmer cheeks etc. I'd love to hear your thoughs on this, as it seems you are familiar with theese mucles. Is it possible excersise the suprahyoid, make it tighter to reduce doubble chin?

Thanks, this is helpful, as is the related exercise video. I have had swallowing problems (especially with liquids) for years. My jaws are always tense (above and below the jawline). My back, neck and shoulders often tense up as well when swallowing. Do you have any more exercises worth trying?

Quick question; Could exercises for correcting forward head (chin tucks etc.) contribute to this kind of tightness? How does one target the deep cervical neck flexors without ending up getting tight suprahyoid muscles?

Today October 15, 2020 I have had some sort of neck pain and or pain/pressure under my chin. End of August I went to a minute clinic because the pain/pressure under my chin was really bad. Everything checked out fine and the doctor said maybe it's allergies. Went to my primary a few weeks ago did blood work and felt lymph nodes and was given a clean bill of health. Today I still get tightness under my chin varying degrees that feels like it goes down my neck and I also get slight burning sensation on either side of the neck under the ears about also varying degrees. I will give it to the end of the month to see if things improve and will either make an appointment with an ears, nose and throat specialist or orthopedic doctor. Any recommendations of what should I do?

could weight cause this too, im 409 ,seem like when i stand up or lean. its a hellish pain, but once its relaxed & comfortable or im not anxious it seems to go away.

Can it be fixed and what excersises should I do to fix it. I'm slim and I got abit of one and also does Mewing work ?

I get noises clicking inside throat were the upper spitchner is mine is a esophageal issue

Hi do you do online consultations?

My legs clench uncontrollably at night and during day sometimes Like I have to clench or I feel sick

How can I strengthen my infrahyoids? The ones on the right, specifically my sternohyoid, does not like to fire. Thoughts?

Do you know what to do when tense and painful digastric muscle on one side?

Omg thank you. I’ve had issues for more than two years now probably because poor sitting posture. This explains so much even down to the pseudo double chin; I thought I was getting old (mid 30s) and saggy while being fairly skinny. I assume it can explain my situation better than cervical instability alone, and why some clicking or something shifting position around the hyoid muscles area happens when I turn my head, and why it gets worse when I eat food (or swallow). The pain and pressure has been hard to pinpoint and changed in subtle ways so I’ve probably confused a lot of doctors. They probably think I have health anxiety and imagine all this or looking for problems. “You have a lot of notes I see [in the medical record]” they say and proceed to calm me down and send me away after maybe one test, without any good guesses. The pain has gotten so complex and annoying, also headaches are getting worse, so I can’t just ignore it like they want me to. I need to push for physiotherapy again, maybe even show them this video. Hope they’re open minded. Nobody seems to have the time to listen or help, sadly, so I have to do it myself knowing nothing about anatomy.

could this be why. im feeling a lump feeling in my throat

I bet I use these muscles to strengthen my neck too.... I have tinnitus since manipulation of C1 / C2. It is masked in an environment with 50 - 60 dB sounds Years later, when a therapist massaged the hyoid muscles, my tinnitus became so much louder for over a week. Even a huge truck driving by me ( 90 dB ) didn't mask it. I was desperate and assumed the worst of postures just to get back my 'old neck', to decrease my tinnitus

i fell off a bicycle at a decent speed, and landed on my back, but as a reflex my neck muscles contracted to protect my head from hitting the ground. A few hours later that night i felt pain in my front neck and weakness, my head felt so heavy that i barely could lift it up my pillow (my back is completely fine i don't have pain anywhere in it). i do not know which front muscles are responsible for this, yet i started applying voltaren but i don't know if it's the right thing to do.

My submandibular gland always feels hard and swollen. I also get insane tension in the left side of my tongue and jaw. But every time I've had it ultrasound they say they cant find any thing. But the back of my neck is so tight that when i rotate my head i can hear a grinding/crunching in my ears. I also have had tinnitus since my problem began over 9 years.

Hi. I have exactly the same problem. I wanted to know if by just relaxing the suprahyoid will the hyoid bone come back to its normal place. Or will I have to stretch the muscles given that they are overactive?

My 5 year old daughter clenches her jaw and neck at the end of yawning. But no cramps. It started around 6 months back. Before that she was yawning normally. Please help.

I have a swelling of the trachea on one side behind the ear that extends to half of the neck

If one can stop over-engaging the supraphyoid muscles, will the mandible gravitate back to its original position?

Whjat is the prognosis of somethign like this? I feel like i have this. I have terrible posture becuase of Ankylosing spondylitis. I have it for years and out of nowhere 3 weeks ago i got this tightness in my throat. feel like a lump in my throat and muscle tightness on the sides of my throat. This goes away while i sleep but comes back very soon after i wake up and sit. The only comfortable thing for me is to sit. The only comfortable thing for me is to sit. I feel like it shifts often. sometimes its right above my adams apple and sometimes it feels like something is in the soft soft right above the sternum at bottom of throat. Then one side of neck my my thyroid i guess. But All i hear is bad news= in regards to my health. No cure, no good prognosis for anything. etc etc. its just never anything positive. ITs very hard on the mind and psyche. Can you provide any positive information?

Have felt my swallowing getting weak and been choking on food for 3 months. All the usual things from Dr's. Acid reflux, anxiety. Recently been told I have TMJ and I can feel I'm eating on one side almost and swallowing worse on days with TMJ flare ups. Also get pressure in the ears, almost like listening through cotton wool.

Do you have any resources... exercises or videos for this? I have had 2 whiplashes, a reverse curve and now I have muscle tension dysphonia.Thank you

How can you raise the back of the tongue to mew if you don’t actívate those muscles?

Love the video. Question: If the hyoid is too low are there exercises to correct its position? Could this also cause the Hyoid to be elevated more on one side than the other? Thanks

I’ve been suffering so bad for so long and while looking for answers I found your video, which made me cry! You’ve described everything I’ve been dealing with from the clenching, to the right muscles, to the pseudo double chin. It almost feels like my throat muscles are super tight too. What do I do? Who do I see? Please help 🙏🏼

Confused, but loved info here. Have had this over 35 + yrs, and its at all time high (bad). Would a retainer at night make this TMD worse? i feel my posture x retainer (to stop grinding) is making it worse. No one in Boston knows how to treat this. But video was not clear to me how to palpate (would love clearer , longer demo ) as its fascinating and a link to the 'other video' you mentioned (cant pronounce , so cant find). Clear by all those here, we need all teaching/tools/training to get help of this uncomfortable TMD. thank you

Sometimes when I yawn I get a cramp in the suprahyoid area, does that mean it is overactive.

Fucking thank you! i think this set of muscles is whats getting me when I yawn and have bad spasms. I finally know a term to get info with! Scared the daylights out of a random lady in the hall with it

Can you link the video in my comment, that helps work those right muscles to hold the head in the right posture? Thank you

I literally have everything you said from clenching the muscles to discomfort and the double chin even tho im slim. Any tips on how to eliminate the double chin? i hate it because im slim and when looking down or trying to keep my head in posture the double chin shows. Please help

Is it possible the clenching is causing me restless sleep that is misdiagnosed as narcolepsy?

Hi I have been suffering from the same problem my left jaw is always tight I have a teeth clenching history Please let me knw what is the solution for this

Why are these muscles not as talked about as much as others? Seem to be a big contributor to the issues I've been having.

I had my upper spitchner dilated when I shouldn't had could this cause more problems

Good explaination, I’ve seen this pseudo double chin in several CCI patients. Any idea which vertebra the muscles associated with hyoid are typically stabilising?

Can this cause thyroiditis because my thyroid feels fine but I’m getting symptoms of it but my hyoid is slanted and clicks

Can you make a video of proper tongue posture? I am trying to put my tongue on the roof of my mouth but it feels like i can not relax the suprahyoid muscle cause of that. Great video!

I don't feel like I clench my jaw at all but it's sore on the right side and underneath my chin is so tender it's affecting my hips and my sciatica I also think my jaw is way too back because of headgear as a teenager

Just a question I have my Adam apply moving up and down involuntary and when I open my mouth my uvula is twitching . What is the reason for that do you think ? . May I know ? Please answer.😢

So i should see a neurologist? My jaw is always sore and painful hard to concentrate and supper depressed and anxious constant ringing of ears my neck hurts like hell too for 7 months sometimes my head feels too heavy to hold

I feel like I can barley open my mouth and when I yawn or open my mouth wide I get a bad cramp under my tongue in between my jaw line please someone help anyone know what it is

Don’t you mean infrahyoid muscle clenching? If they’re maintaining the hyoid inferiorly in posture then I’d assume the suprahyoids are lengthened while the infrahyoids are contracting.

Thanks so much! Do you have any insight on how to stop bruxism or nighttime clenching? It's involuntary and happens during my sleep, and I have TMD as a result. Interestingly, it is only the LEFT TMJ that's in pain. The RIGHT TMJ is completely fine. Perhaps there's some muscle imbalance/weakness involved that's causing the nighttime clenching? Thanks again!

How can I book an appointment to see you for a problem related to this?

I am having breathing difficulties, psychiatric illness, due to throat problems face, eye, forehead Paresthisia, tingling. What it Could possibly be?

I've had a problem for a while now which is that the bones of my throat (idk what they're called) make a *click* sound and my throat feels clenched all the time. Is this the same thing? ?

Hello sir, I thank you for this educational video. I am wondering if you fix this problem will the pseudo double chin go away?

Would both injections into the SupraHyoid muscles be an options?

TMD can displace a disc???

Do you take patients ?

Do you live in the United States 😥?