03/08/2023
We deal with tethered oral tissues quite a bit. Mainly with infants, but sometimes with older children and adults. Below is a post from my lymphatic group. The tongue and its ability to move as it was created to is so.very.important!
The HAVEN Bodywork & Lactation
Kharis Midwifery
_____________________________________
Dr. Steven Lin
Poster based in Australia · December 13, 2022 ·
Did you know your tongue is a lymph draining organ?
A strong well positioned tongue is an effective toxin clearing system.
Most people aren’t aware how important their tongue posture is.
It’s also capable of absorbing. The mucous membrane of the tongue can absorb some substances – for example medications that are to act quickly.
A tablet, fluid or spray put underneath the tongue, but not swallowed, is called sublingual administration, and absorbs into the body faster than the digestive system.
Let’s look at how the tongue drains into the lymph system.
The tip of the tongue drains into the submental lymph node under the chin.
The middle of the tongue drains into the submandibular node, which you can feel under the jawbone.
At the back, down toward the throat, it drains to the deep cervical nodes that run down through the neck which you can see on the image above.
What is important to remember is that lymph drains via movement.
Proper movement of the tongue is a skill that most people aren’t aware of. It is a complex muscle system, and each of these different segments must move properly for the lymph system to flow properly.
The tongue has a great ability to move in all directions. The reason for this is the way the muscle fibers are arranged, which is unique in our body. They run in all three directions: from front to back, from the sides to the middle and from top to bottom. This allows the tongue to make the following movements:
It’s the only muscle in our body that can actively contract and extend. When the vertical and horizontal fibers contract at the same time, the tongue becomes narrower and longer: we can stick our tongue out.
• Raising and lowering
• Bending backwards
• Advancing and retracting
So, let’s try a tongue movement exercise:
1) Open your jaw as wide as it will go
2) Poke the tongue out as far as it will go (keeping to straight to the horizontal)
3) Move slowly side to side touching each corner of the mouth (Repeat 10x)
4) Put the tongue to the floor of the mouth and lift the tongue right to the palate behind the upper front teeth (Repeat 10x)
Did you know the tongue movements clear the lymphatic system of the mouth and neck?
