I have a patient who had a Standing Reach Test to their ankles. I instructed them to protrude their jaw forward and to the right while placing a pen between their teeth on the right side. I re-checked their Standing Reach Test and they were able to get to the floor. Could you please help me to understand this?
By placing your mandible forward and to the right and while deactivating the left temporalis and activating the right medial pterygoid and left lateral pterygoid to externally rotate and flex the right temporal bone in a state of inhalation on the right, allows the sphenoid to rest in a more symmetrical stable and secure neutral position: allowing the entire compensatory extensor tone of the body to decrease. Without a neutral sphenoid, cervical and thoracic flexion is difficult.
