Finger in mouth

I was seen at the clinic, for my ear. The doctor went over everything with me and then asked (like she needed permission?) to examine my neck, ears and mouth. I agreed. She looked in my ears and up my nose and in my mouth. She then went to town feeling around my neck, asking me to "swallow hard" (I wanted to ask HER to "swallow hard") several times. She then looked in my mouth, much like the dentist does. Looking at the inside skin of my mouth, tongue up, out, say ahh....

Then she stepped back and had a worried look in her face and asked me if she could feel the back of my tongue. She poked her finger into my mouth and reached in far to the back. I briefly gagged but did not bite down or withdraw. She sensed I was okay with her finger there and she palpated like crazy the back side of my tongue, the area before it goes down my throat. While this was odd, I have never had this done before, I thought I had heard some doctors do this to check the overall health of a patient.

She pressed the center of my tongue, then slid left, then far right. She then pressed some more. Almost hard enough for my mouth to close ever so gently. She was now, almost, fingering my mouth/tongue. I instantly thought that this must be like when a doctor checks a woman's ovaries during a gyno exam. I know its not like it exactly, but for a guy like me, this was close enough. From then on I thoroughly enjoyed her finger in the back of my throat! But it did not last long.

I know that some clinical massage therapists will insert a finger in the mouth to loosen up the muscles under the tongue and around the jaw. Interesting concept.

I find it rather interesting and wonder what line of *care* suggests to feel the back of a patient's tongue?!?!?!?!?!?

What would one expect to find there? What symptoms would enlarge the tongue in certain spots?

Kind of the same with acupuncture. The lady I see asks me to show her my tongue. She then inserts needles in my ankle for my ear issues and in my face for lower back pains... (I made these up, all by myself. If I have them wrong, it was only for illustration purposes. I only pretend to be a doctor)

;-)