Did you know that if your tongue’s movement is restricted, it can impact how you eat, speak or even your posture?

While the tongue’s ability to move can negatively impact all these things and more, there is something that can help: myofunctional therapy.

The Importance of Tongue Movement

If you have ever tried to talk while eating a meal, then you may be familiar with this phenomenon.

Your tongue has a lot of functions in our everyday lives. For example, it helps us taste food by moving the food around on the tongue’s surface, reaching our different tastebuds. It also helps us chew and swallow food so we don’t choke!

The tongue also plays a vital role in speech and maintaining proper body alignment. If the tongue is restricted, it can result in a forward head posture. This posture can cause neck pain, headaches, backaches, shoulder aches and other issues.

A restricted tongue can also impact your breathing; when the tongue cannot move freely, it can fall back and block the airway, restricting airflow into the lungs.

Tongue restriction can also contribute to speech delays and articulation issues. The muscles that control the tongue are directly connected to the jaw and teeth, which means any problems with those areas can impact them.

Tongue-Ties and Kids

As children grow up, their tongues tend to get longer. As a result, kids often find themselves having trouble swallowing.

This issue can worsen over time, especially for kids who have had tonsils removed. When the tongue gets too long, it can interfere with how the throat closes during swallowing.

When the tongue becomes too long, it can also restrict tongue movements, making it harder to chew and swallow foods properly.

The Negative Effects of a Tongue-Tie

When the tongue is tied down, its regular movements are restricted. This can lead to many adverse effects, including:

• Headaches
• Neck pain
• Jaw pain
• Back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Poor posture
• Breathing difficulties and mouth breathing
• Articulation issues
• Learning disabilities
• Sleep apnea
• Poor oral hygiene
• Other health conditions known as oromyofunctional disorders

OMDs and Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleep-disordered breathing condition in which people stop breathing during sleep. When someone stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer, it is considered a case of obstructive sleep apnea.

People who suffer from oral myofunctional disorders often experience sleep apnea because their tongues cannot move properly. As a result, the soft tissue in the back part of the throat becomes swollen and inflamed. This swelling blocks the airway and prevents oxygen from getting to the brain.

People with sleep apnea are usually unaware of the problem until they wake up feeling tired and disoriented. They may also experience snoring or choking sounds during sleep.