Tongue Tie
4 Ways Chiropractic Can Help
The past decade has been fraught with controversy surrounding infant tongue-tie surgery (“tongue-tie”, or “tethered oral tissue”). It can be easy to assume that tethered oral tissue is causing any feeding problems - and that could be! But consider what other structures might be causing problems too. In clinical practice, I’ve seen tongue, head, or neck adaptations that affect feeding function with and without a tongue-tie.
You may be wondering, how can a pediatric chiropractor help? Chiropractors cannot diagnose a tongue-tie, but they can do a lot to help a baby with feeding dysfunction. We can also help prepare a baby’s body before a tongue-tie surgery, and aid in recovery post-surgery. It is possible that chiropractic care can help to avoid a tongue-tie surgery altogether if the dysfunction is rooted in a different biomechanical issue of the head and neck. If you suspect or have been told that your child has a tongue-tie, here are four points to consider.
Reducing Nerve Interference to Tongue Muscles
If your infant’s tongue seems tight, the oral tissue of the frenulum might not be what’s restricting it. In some cases, nerves that power the tongue may have their signals compromised causing the tongue muscles to appear tight or weak. When a baby’s tongue is tight, you may experience pain if you are breastfeeding. Your baby may also have trouble transferring milk from the breast or even bottle. Also, some babies have frequent spitting up to to an inability to swallow properly. Nevertheless, a tight tongue muscle can cause feeding problems.
As a certified pediatric chiropractor, I can care for this adaptation. I will make gentle adjustments to normalize the neck, cranial bones, and soft tissue attaching to the areal. The goal of this care is to remove the possible cause of nerve irritation to the tongue and mouth. This is important to do before more invasive procedures and as preparation for tongue-tie release.
2. Aligning Bone and Joint Structures that are Attached to the Tongue
The muscles involved with tongue movements and swallowing attach to the bones of the head and neck. When these structures are in poor alignment, these soft tissues can be pulled and tugged resulting in dysfunctional movements. This can restrict tongue motion and give the appearance of a “posterior tongue-tie” with feeding difficulty.
You can experience this restriction for yourself by looking down, tucking your chin to your chest, and turning your head to the right. When in this position try to suck, swallow, and breathe. It’s incredibly difficult to do!
When babies experience these misalignments they can present as having the hallmark symptoms of a tongue-tie, but the dysfunction may be rooted in their misaligned head and neck. By performing gentle adjustments, proper alignment and biomechanical function can be restored, easing the symptoms. A baby may still have a tongue-tie but they will fare much better after a release if their head, neck, and mouth are functioning properly in good alignment.
3. Ruling Out the Frenulum as the Culprit
It may be obvious that your baby’s tongue is restricted or not working effectively. However, the frenulum is not always the culprit. By bringing balance to your baby’s head, neck, jaw, and attaching muscles and other soft tissues a more accurate assessment of the tongue can be performed because there will not be compensation or tight muscles due to imbalances in the body and it can help providers discern whether a potential release is needed or not.
4. Enhancing Results of Tongue-Tie Surgery
Sometimes a release is necessary. In those cases, prepping your baby’s body for the procedure and healing period is the best practice method to ensure optimal results.
Tongue-tie release prep gives the surgeon better tissue to work with. It also makes it easier to see inside your baby’s mouth. Before the release, it is important to achieve proper alignment of the head and neck so that the wound created by the release can heal in an ideal position so that problems do not resurface in the future.
Post-release chiropractic care helps to:
Correct motor skill development of the tongue and spine
Encourage and support ideal wound healing
Optimize your baby’s anatomy to accommodate the change created form the surgery
Beyond these benefits, chiropractic in general promotes support for babies’ growing spines and optimal healing from any birth stresses, strains, or trauma. By taking these steps, you can potentially decrease the need for surgery or support a needed release, so that your baby can achieve normal function.
If you suspect a tongue-tie, pediatric chiropractic care should be an essential first step on your journey to bringing balance and proper function to your baby, supporting breastfeeding and ideal development of your child’s mouth, head, and neck.
