Hi Friends, I'm Priya Mistry - the TMJ doc. Today I'm going to teach you how to release
the Masseter muscle. It's the muscle that runs along here. This muscle is the largest and most
powerful muscle of mastication. When this muscle becomes dysfunctional or goes into
a chronic pain/spasm cycle, it can lead to a LOT of discomfort; typically jaw pain,
which can then feed up and cause headaches as well. So for those of you who don't know me,
I'm a General Dentist with a practice in Portland, Oregon where we are dedicated
to taking care of patients with TMJ disorders. Please be sure to check out my Instagram handle,
as well. I post there quite regularly and have some good tips and tricks and just
tidbits of information, as well. So let's get right into it! The Masseter muscle!
So the Masseter starts at the zygomatic arch and it then goes down and inserts into the angle
and the ramus of the mandible. Its job is to both elevate and protrude the jaw; so close it
and bring it forward. There are two releases that we're going to be doing on this muscle,
so we can get both the superficial fibers as well as the deep fibers. And so one of these releases
is outside of the mouth and one is inside of the mouth. So i'll start with the outside of the mouth
one first. Fun Fact: we have top, middle, and base knuckles! I did not know that, or I didn't
know what they were called; I just called them all knuckles! But anyways, for this one we're going to
take our middle knuckles. These guys right here, and put them right underneath our zygomatic arch.
So you're gonna feel that bone - your cheekbone - and go right at the bottom edge of it and
put your middle knuckles right there; and then you're gonna slowly - with pressure - bring them
all the way down to the angle of the mandible and then stop. And you can do that a couple
of times. It feels really, really good. Again, this muscle is the biggest and most powerful,
so to give it a good release is going to feel great! So let me demonstrate on myself!
Middle knuckles at the bottom edge... and then we'll just slowly bring them down with pressure
inward. So just put as much pressure as you can handle. You don't need to overdo it but, ah, feels
very good yeah! And then you can see I stop right there. So you can do that to yourself as many
times as you want. I mean, don't hurt yourself. You'll kind of know when to stop. But already,
I feel tension being relieved. So this one can be really useful, particularly for those of you who
are clenching and grinding all the time; which - if you're watching this video - you probably
are clenching and grinding all the time. And the second release is the one inside your mouth. For
your left masseter you'll use your right hand, and for your right masseter you'll use your
left hand. So you'll take your pointer finger and your thumb, and you'll actually grab the inside
of your cheek and get as far back as you can.. and then give it a little pinch and slowly come
forward. Then you can do that again a little bit lower or higher - depending on where you were.
And basically just run as far as you can along the length of the muscle. So even if you have
to go in there a few times doing it a little lower or a little higher each time you'll be getting all
the deep fibers of this muscle and you'll also be running perpendicular to the way the fibers run.
So you're getting a release where you're running parallel to the fibers and then a
release where you're running perpendicular to the fibers. So that can be very helpful,
as well. So i will be demonstrating this one as well, so I'm about to look really cool guys. I'm
going to put my pink glove on and then we'll go ahead and do this one as well. All right,
so you're gonna get your pointer finger and your thumb like I said;
and you're gonna go as far back as you can. And I'll start at the top; as far top and back as
I can get. Okay, and then I'll do it a few more times going lower and lower each time.
Okay and again, you're going to apply just as much pressure as feels good
and really get back there. Once you get back there with your thumb and you have your pointer finger
on the outside, you can even close a little bit. You don't have to be super super open. That can
strain the muscle; so close a little bit and you should be able to get a good pinch or grasp and
then just come forward. So these releases are so great for this large and powerful muscle.
You're getting the superficial fibers, you're getting the deep fibers, you're running parallel
to the muscle, you're running perpendicular to the muscle. You're doing it all! So you should
feel some relief after doing this release. And that, my friends, is it! So if you like
what you heard or you learned something new, click "Like" below, Subscribe to my channel,
do all the things! And remember - you can never have TMI about TMJ!