MyoSmiles Therapy

08/26/2022

08/26/2022

Breathing is a 24-7 unconscious act… are you breathing the correct way????

08/26/2022

How To Be a Reliable Tongue Tie Provider

Folks, this isn't rocket science. I think there is so much confusion, controversy, and lack of education in the understanding of tongue tie that we are overcomplicating what needs to be done.

For a successful tongue tie release, the provider needs to do 4 things
1) understand what the tongue is supposed to do
2) understand how to check the tongue to see if it can do what it is supposed to do
3) understand how to release the tongue tie to allow the tongue to do what it is supposed to do
4) understand how to properly do wound care to prevent the tongue from reverting to a state where it cannot do what it is supposed to do

07/14/2022

Oral posture guides head, neck, and spinal posture.

To say it simply, you’re not supposed to breathe through the mouth.

The incorrect use of our airway depletes the respiratory immune system, and at the same time imbalances the oral and gut microbiome.

However, many people suffer from symptoms of mouth breathing, and they don’t know it starts with their breath.

Today, crooked teeth are a functional consequence of mouth breathing. Nasal breathing allows the upper jaw to expand and fit the upper teeth, and create a wide patent airway.

Your skeletal system moulds around your breathing patterns.

The tongue, is the rudder of oral posture, and should seal to the roof of the mouth. The muscles that connect to the back of the tongue, connect to the back of the throat and base of the skull.

When the tongue is pressed up to the palate, and the back of the tongue is up to fully engage the throat, the cervical spine is engaged.

When the tongue is down, we mouth breath, and the head falls forward due to lack of support.

Exercise tolerance and respiratory muscle strength in relation to forward head posture (FHP) and respiratory mode in children, is far better in kids who nasal breathe, compared to mouth breathers.

Abnormal swallowing patterns and facial characteristics, postural problems may also be present in those who habitually breathe through their mouth.

Mouth breathers tend to assume a characteristic posture, carrying their heads forward in order to compensate for the restriction to their airways and make breathing possible.

Exercise capacity is negatively affected by mouth breathing; and that the presence of moderate forward head posture acted as a compensatory mechanism in order to improve respiratory muscle function.

This forward head posture often leads to muscle fatigue, neck pain, TMJ pain, and headaches.

If you suffer from jaw pain, neck pain, teeth grinding then reconnecting to tongue posture and nasal breathing is a long term solution.

Imagine creating space at the back of the through by sealing the tongue up to the roof of the mouth.

Do you suffer from any of these problems?

06/24/2022

06/24/2022

“After tongue-tie releases paired with exercises, most children experience functional improvements in speech, feeding, and sleep. Providers should screen for oral restrictions in children and refer for treatment when functions are impaired.”

Baxter, R., Merkel-Walsh, R., Baxter, B. S., Lashley, A., & Rendell, N. R. (2020). Functional Improvements of Speech, Feeding, and Sleep After Lingual Frenectomy Tongue-Tie Release: A Prospective Cohort Study. Clinical pediatrics, 59(9-10), 885–892. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922820928055

06/22/2022

Repeat procedures

I would estimate that approximately 30% of the babies I see in clinic are babies who have already had a procedure done. Some observations:

1) Almost all of the babies who need a re-do are those who previously had classic anterior tongue ties (the ones that go to the tip of the tongue and that anyone can easily spot). In medical training, we are taught to just snip that band. This post helps to explain why there's always a residual posterior tongue tie behind what is snipped anteriorly: https://www.drghaheri.com/blog/2014/3/22/rethinking-tongue-tie-anatomy-anterior-vs-posterior-is-irrelevant
2) Some babies/moms can benefit from a simple anterior release (there are 5 randomized, controlled trials that show improvement). The problem with these studies is that they don't follow the dyads for very long, so it's hard to know what happens to them afterwards. I find that quite often that those who get an anterior release but still have problems with breastfeeding can have symptoms evolve over time. Increasing caloric needs as the baby gets larger, changing milk supply, and different compensations all affect whether or not new symptoms show up. If they do show up, knowing that the babies are still technically tied may offer the dyads an option to pursue further treatment.
3) We've published a paper looking at this exact scenario: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29787680/

As always, information is key. Your baby's doctor(s) may not be aware about what a posterior tongue tie is or how it can continue to impact feeding. Some insurance companies are also confused - they argue that once a tongue tie release has been done, there can't be a tongue tie (so they try to fight coverage for the revision procedure).

One last thought - doing a procedure for the first time should NOT be called a revision. I'm not sure who started that nonsense, but in medical/surgical terms, a revision procedure is to revise something that was already done/attempted, so the term "revision" should be applied only in situations where a tongue tie was already released.

06/22/2022

DID YOU KNOW?

That orofacial myofunctional disorders may affect:
〰️ Chewing and swallowing
〰️ Speech patterns
〰️ Breathing and body posture patterns
〰️ Facial skeletal growth and airway development
〰️ Jaw stability and movement
〰️ Breastfeeding
〰️ Oral hygiene
〰️ Alignment of the teeth
〰️ Facial esthetics

Normalised patterns of proper tongue, lips and jaw postures are crucial to facilitating normal growth and the overall development of the orofacial structural and muscular systems.

The is all about promoting proper growth and development in young children!

06/22/2022

I made a commitment to watch the sunrise every morning for six months and it changed my life.

​When we talk about benefits of sunlight, we think vitamin D, but the nuances and role the sun plays in the human body goes far further.⠀
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Your solar panels are you your skin and eyes. When you expose skin to middle day sun, we convert vitamin D. It’s also the sunlight that can burn if you expose too much.⠀
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SUNRISE is a different type of light.⠀
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All sunlight is 42% infrared light. Infrared light stimulates collagen, increases bone healing and heals wounds. So, sunrise is great for your gums and teeth.⠀
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Sunrise contains little to no UV, so expose as much skin to the morning sun as you can.⠀
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This type of infrared light is also anti-ageing; it reduces wrinkles and scars. That’s not what you usually hear about sunlight is it!⠀
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​Infrared light, along with cellular water, is crucial when it comes to charging your body and creating energy.⠀
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The benefits of morning sun play a critical role as to how we utilize sunrays found in light over the day. Infrared light around sunrise preconditions our skin to protect us from the UVA and UVB that comes out a bit later.⠀
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Catch enough infrared light early in the morning and you’re less likely to burn later in the day.⠀
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Then around 10am, UVA raises its head a little bit later in the morning. It is critical in making Nitric Oxide (the substance we release from the nasal sinuse and exercise). Nitric oxide drastically increases mitochondrial energy, your memory, and it’s anti-aging.⠀
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UVA light also triggers the production of serotonin and dopamine and releases endorphins along with a small op**te effect. The end result? You feel good.⠀
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So if there’s one health recommendation I can make. Get up with the sunrise, watch it and expose your eyes, skin, and brain to the benefits of sunlight.⠀
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​Did you know the benefits of morning sun? Anyone catch the sunrise today?

05/16/2022

The symptoms of low thyroid function and vagal tone are similar.

Their connection may be based on a physical layout of the vagus nerve.

On the way to the gut the vagus controls the muscles at the back of the throat to begin the digestive swallowing process.

It also slings a nerve back up to the voice box, to control the laryngeal muscles.

Right here is the thyroid gland, which may show the connection between vagal tone and our voice.

Low thyroid hormone levels cause fluid to accumulate in the vocal folds, and when the thyroid gland enlarges due to disease, the vocal chords can become pinched or partially paralyzed due to their snug proximity.

One characteristic of hypothyroidism is a hoarse voice.

The thyroid gland is controlled by sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves (vagus).

That means if your stressed, it will downregulate the production of thyroid hormone, potentially due to lack of vagal nerve tone.

Your vagal tone can be measured by tracking your heart rate, your breathing rate, and your heart rate variability (HRV).

Increasing your vagal tone activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and having higher vagal tone means that your body can relax faster after stress.

In 2010, researchers discovered a positive feedback loop between high vagal tone, positive emotions, and good physical health.

So how to improve vagal tone? Better connection and control to vocal chords and voice will assist your brain to keep good relaxing vagal tone (hence why singing make us feel good!)

Physical ways to activate the vagus nerve:

1) Gargling while humming – try to see if you can do a 1-minute exercise
2) Cold showers
3) Deep expansive breathing, with exhale double the inhale
4) Voice exercises

To use the laryngeal muscles you need to exercise the full pitch of your voice.

Siren exercise: takes an “oooo” sound and gradually goes from the lowest note of your range to the highest and back down, like a siren for an emergency vehicle.

The sound is continuous and covers the tones between the notes.

If it’s hard in one point, just keep practicing, it will get easier as you gain better control.

03/27/2022

Mouth breathing and effortful breathing are one of the earliest signs of sleep-disordered breathing and eventually sleep apnea. The many potential consequences of untreated pediatric sleep disordered breathing (including behavioral and learning issues as well as overall health and wellness) are reviewed. Observation and awareness of sleep and breathing habits are key to early diagnosis. ZaghiMD.com

03/27/2022

For me personally, neck and head movement and mobility have been critical to maintaining better back and spinal posture.

If you look at the picture you see that each tooth has a personal drainage system.

The lymphatic system functions to drain tissue fluid, plasma proteins and other cellular debris back into the blood stream, and is also involved in immune defence. Once this collection of substances enters the lymphatic vessels, it is known as lymph.

To summarise, the lymph nodes of the head and neck can be divided into two groups; a superficial ring of lymph nodes, and a vertical group of deep lymph nodes.

The deep (cervical) lymph nodes receive all of the lymph from the head and neck. They are organised into a vertical chain, located within close proximity to the internal jugular vein within the carotid sheath.

The lymphatic system depends on this changing pressure to pump lymphatic fluid through the system with valves that keep fluids moving in one direction. The flow through these nodes is what drives our capacity to both mount an immune response and to sound the alarm for other needed immune cells.

Any sort of movement practice (gentle or vigorous) can act as an important pump for this system.

For two beginner twisting exercises try these two at home:
• Standing twist.
1. Stand straight feet hip width apart
2. Start turning to one side
3. Place one hand behind back and one on the opposite hip.
4. Look as far over your shoulder as you can exhale and inhale
5. Inhale one more time and as your exhale twist and repeat to the other side.
6. Repeat 10 times.

• Sitting Twist:
1. Sit up straight with both legs out in front of you.
2. Cross your right foot to the outside of your left thigh and bring your left foot back beside your right hip. Place your right fingertips behind you and hug your left knee into your chest. Inhale, sit up tall. Exhale, twist to the right from the base of your spine.
3. To increase the intensity of the pose, bring your left elbow to outside of your right knee. Inhale, lengthen your spine. Exhale, twist a little deeper.
4. Hold the pose for 3 breaths on each side.

Do you ever feel your lymph nodes swell up?