Exercises for the Jaw to Shoulder - Release Your Kinetic Chain. Dr. Brian James Abelson DC.

drawing or pushing in”¹. This is very different from the common advice given by some trainers to suck in (or hollow-out) your abdominals or to contract (pull in) your Transversus Abdominis muscle (TVA). In fact, Dr. McGill’s research has shown that the action of pulling in your TVA actually de-activates your paraspinal muscles causing increased instability by creating or reinforcing abnormal neuromuscular patterns.

      Basically, bracing is the process of gently pushing out while contracting all of your abdominal muscles.

      This process also forces your paraspinal muscles to tighten at the same time.

      The process of bracing creates a belt or corset around the core of your body which gives you a base of stabilization. This base of stability allows you to direct energy from your core to your extremities.

How to Brace your Core!

      Bracing is accomplished by gently pushing out your abdominal wall while tightening your back at the same time. This is actually quite a simple procedure once you get used to it. When bracing is done correctly, you will almost immediately feel like you have a stronger core.

      Another way to quickly learn how to brace is by using a hula-hoop.

      That’s right...your childhood toy can help you brace properly, especially when you use a weighted hula-hoop. Hula-hooping forces you to brace all your abdominal and back muscles at the same time.

      Many adults are surprised to discover just how difficult hooping can be initially, especially when their children find it to be so easy. This is because children generally have better core strength than their parents.

      Just five minutes of hula-hooping a day can substantially increase your core stability. So pick up that hoop and have some fun!

      Note: For a better understanding of your core, I recommend reading Dr. Stuart McGill’s book, “Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance”.

      1. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, 3rd Edition, Stuart McGill PhD. 2004, Wabuno Publishers, BackFitPro Publishers.

       Understanding Your Kinetic Chain

      Jaw, neck, and shoulder...what’s the connection? We don’t normally think of these structures as being interconnected...until we suffer from pain or injury to one of these areas. And suddenly, we become very aware of the inter-relationships between these areas. Our bodies are a remarkable series of kinetically linked systems which, when working efficiently, store and release impressive amounts of energy when we need it!

A Kinetic Chain - Jaw to Shoulder

      It is important to understand that our body is one very large Kinetic Web, in which tension within one area directly affects the soft tissue structures in adjacent areas.

      The Kinetic Web can be thought of as a linked series of kinetic chains. Each kinetic chain is made up of individual links (your joints, bones, and soft tissues) which are connected to each other to form a Kinetic Web.

      Any weak link in this chain not only generates its own set of problems, but also creates problems and compensations within its entire Kinetic Web.

      When a structure in your jaw, neck, or shoulder is injured or restricted, it becomes unable to effectively perform its normal functions such as chewing your food, turning your neck, or even shrugging your shoulder.

      Your body compensates for this lack of ability by using other surrounding structures to help perform these actions. These compensations initially affect muscles, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue. But as time goes on, these compensations can lead to reduced nervous system function (due to impingement upon neurological structures), reduced blood flow (cardiovascular dysfunction), and increased inflammation (due to micro-tears or biochemical changes within your body).

      The bottom-line is that when you have changes in one area of your body, there will be cascading effects throughout the rest of your body, and thus throughout all the structures in your kinetic chain. These kinetic chain relationships must be taken into consideration by any soft tissue treatment or exercise protocol.

Exercise Routines and Your Kinetic Chain

      Unfortunately, many exercise programs do not take into account the kinetic chain relationships of your body’s joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues.

      Many exercise programs only focus on the area showing symptoms of pain and inflammation, and fail to address the structures that interconnect with these symptomatic areas. Since such programs do not address the entire kinetic chain, they are rarely effective for resolving your injury or problem.

      This is why we have combined the exercises for the jaw, neck, and shoulder (and related core exercises) within one book. These three areas can often be thought of as an interwoven series of kinetic links, with each link affecting the function of the next link in the chain.

      A soft tissue problem in one of these linked areas can cascade into problems in adjacent areas. It can even affect kinetic links in distant parts of your body such as your core or hips. For example a shoulder problem in a runner affects that runner’s ability to transfer energy from their upper extremity through their core to their lower extremity. When this happens, your shoulder problem actually affects the power of your stride!

      It is also important to remember that a lack of obvious symptoms (pain, inflammation) in an area does not mean that those structures have not been affected. They are still involved in performing the action, and still feel the effects of restrictions in your kinetic chain.

      This is why the exercise routines in this book focus upon more than just one area. It is essential to address multiple links in your kinetic chain in order to be successful at achieving full resolution of an injury and to reach your full functional potential.

Your Jaw-to-Shoulder Kinetic Chain

      The TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) is considered to be one of the most complex joints in the human body. The TMJ works like a hinge but can also perform sliding motions.

      When the TMJ and its accompanying soft tissues are restricted or unbalanced, it can result in conditions such as headaches, earaches, facial pain, vision problems, eye pain, teeth problems, balance issues, tinnitus, throat and neck pain, dizziness, and a host of other symptoms.

      Most of these complaints arise from the muscles that surround the temporomandibular joint and the joint itself.

       Kinetic Chain components of the Jaw, Neck, and Shoulder.

      Problems in any one of these areas can cause pain or dysfunction in any of the related kinetic chain structures. Remember, a lack of symptoms in an area does not mean that