SPATULA PRESSING

Myofunktional Exercise  Collect ion

Application:

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For a low position of the tongue this exercise aims at a tone strengthening of the tongue tip and the tongue (tip) elevators and a Frenum stretching (Anatomy: Area II, Page 18).

Contents:

In its carry-out this is a (self-) manipulated counter pressure strength training.

Materials:

“Jig”, (tongue)-spatula.

Procedure:

- Previous exercises: Not required.

-Starting position: Not specific.

- Step-by-step-description:

-1 The spatula is held with one hand (centreline) underneath the incisal edges of the upper incisors in a way that the one end is protruding about one to two centimetres into the Cavum Oris.

-2 Now the tongue tip is set against the inner end of the spatula from below. Outside, then, the tip of a finger is pressing from beneath the other end upwards: The seesaw is balanced.

-3 if, now, the finger is increasing its pressure the tongue will have to put up more resistance to keep the balance.

This way of carry-out is solely static. To generate a motivating play component alternately the tip of the tongue versus the tip of the finger will press harder; this results in a seesaw movement. This variation is more a kinetic one.

-Timing: In the static mode during the maintenance counting goes up to about twenty, in the kinetic mode twenty seesaw movements are counted up. This adds to one sequence. As the carry-out is quite simple five sequences may well be linked up to a series.

In the breaks BAGGY TONGUE  or  TONGUE-PLOP are suitable.

Characteristics:

Manipulation, gross Motor Skills, rather static, tone increasing.

Remarks:

If necessary, in case of hypersensitivity for prevention a slow settling in should prevent a nauseating; here the length of the spatula end protruding into the mouth is important. Rather with consideration this exercise should be applied in case of a tendency for pro- or extroversion of the tongue tip, especially when a bending up of the frontal arc has appeared.

Discussion:

This at first glance fairly unimposing exercise may very well be termed multifunctional. Acting in a strengthening way on the tongue elevators in its most simple carry –out it may be attributed at the same time a sensitising and orientating effect as the tongue will have to be held deliberately in the region of the POINT. This also makes it suitable for training the proverted tongue into a retral direction.

By the seesawing in step 3 additionally a coordinative acting of the muscles is required.

As the exercise is demanding muscle employment a loosening exercise (see above) should be interposed

Instructions:

Play time for the tongue: It is allowed to rock on a seesaw, actually not “on” but “below” as it is fastened to the mouth bottom, so:

Hold the spatula with thumb and forefinger, stick it into your mouth just one ore two centimetres and hold it against the upper incisors. Against this end, protruding into your mouth, now the tongue is setting from below. Outside now the finger holding the spatula from above may let go, only the finger from below, your thumb, perhaps, is sitting under the spatula like the tongue from inside. The tow of them will now start going up and down on the seesaw - or they just try to keep the balance. Just like we intended to do and just as long.