MFT refers to Myofunctional Therapy. This means that if you can learn how to stretch your tongue and strengthen the muscles of the face, then as you get a bit older these muscle groups will stay tauter and less droopy over time. This equates to less airway obstruction. Less fat tissue drooping into your throat means the airway will function better and your AHI (Apnea Hypopnea Index) can be lowered. While treating airway disorders, a sleep apnea test is usually performed. The AHI number will be determined. An AHI of lower than 5 is usually a good number, but when it creeps up to 10 and above, this means sleep apnea could be present. If sleep apnea is present, it needs to be dealt with.  Sleep apnea affects more than just your sleep.  Daytime drowsiness can lead to difficulty concentrating and irritability.

Before discussing MFT further, there are more abbreviations to understand.  The term OSA refers to Obstructive Sleep Apnea. OSA just means that you have sleep apnea, and the AHI is relatively high. It is always important to know your numbers regarding OSA and know why a higher number is a bad sign. So do your sleep test, determine what the AHI number is, and you will know how bad the OSA is. This will help you understand how to fix the problem and the severity of your sleep apnea.

Many people would help their own health if they exercised regularly. Imagine if you exercise your tongue, your cheeks, your neck, your forehead; this would allow all the muscles of the head and neck to work better and not be so flaccid. As we get older, all these muscles simply become saggier. The less-tone flabby muscles in the throat begin to close the throat. Did you know that your tongue can harbor tremendous amounts of fat tissue? This tissue is very difficult to get rid of because practically no one exercises the tongue the way it should!

The real problem with MFT, as mentioned previously, is that even when you really should do the exercises, most do not. They are too busy, don’t really care, or think it’s kind of a silly thing. But, when they learn that the muscular system of the throat is just like working the biceps, the traps, the thighs, they more or less ‘get it.’

Learn about MFT and how it might help you because it will help you stay healthier longer.  If you’d like a more natural approach to helping reduce your OSA, this is worth looking into!  There are online resources to help you learn where to look.

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Did you know that your tongue can hold fat deposits, just like your belly? If you were ever overweight in the past, your tongue would likely have fat deposits in it, and these are kind of hard to lose. The tongue, like any other muscle in the human body, needs to exercise. But like most patients who are referred to a myofunctional therapist, they don’t go, they won’t do it. It costs money and time, and they feel like it’s kind of silly to exercise this area of the body. Well, folks, it does work and does make lots of sense, so get out there and start exercising that tongue!

In so many cases where a patient has sleep apnea, the tongue is quite large and is full of fat tissue. This can readily be seen on an X-ray that shows the tongue and what can be seen is that the tongue is elevated because it is thick due to fat deposition. Like so many areas of the human body, if you exercise the tongue and surrounding tissues, the fat will decrease over time which will effectively open the airway for better breathing. Snoring usually reduces as well as the tongue becomes smaller and tighter. The tissues around the tongue also become more toned with these exercises so if you have sleep apnea, it might reduce as you exercise this area over time. In fact, in many of the dental sleep medicine training programs, it is taught that myofunctional exercises are mandatory to improve a patient’s health.

There are other obvious benefits to exercising your tongue.  Your speech and articulation of words are improved, caused by the weakness in the tongue. If you have Dysphagia (trouble swallowing), your ability to develop a stronger tongue able to move more easily and then swallowing becomes easier. Finally, another plus is the jawline. Tongue exercises include the muscles groups below the chin and toning of the jawline begins.

So once again, dear reader, consider sticking out your tongue and making it work like it has never worked before. Get that tongue at attention! Get that tongue out there into the real world! Make that tongue healthier, happier, and improve your life!

The post The Case for Tongue Exercises – REALLY? first appeared on Sleep & TMJ Therapy.

TMJ and sleep disorders are very common but not really understood.  This can explain why myths or misconceptions are out there.  The other side of this coin is this is also commonly misdiagnosed because symptoms vary from person to person and are similar to other problems.  One example of similarities is with Lyme Disease.  This is caused by a tick bite and the symptoms could be chronic headaches or migraines, jaw pain and tingling in the hand or fingers, notable symptoms of TMJ disorder. The big difference is Lyme disease does not have the clicking and popping or vertigo symptoms of TMJ disorder.  There are other examples as well; migraines, Trigeminal Neuralgia (short, sharp pain from touching of the jaw joint), or even a Ganglion Cyst (on the TM joint causing swelling and jaw pain).

Just remember all of us get sore muscles from time to time. The big difference is when the muscles in your jaw joints get sore and the soreness does not go away.  This is when you should ask your dentist for a referral. Otherwise, you could be prolonging the unnecessary pain or soreness and allowing the disc to possibly become further damaged.  TMJ disorder does affect other parts of your body. The myth of no popping or clicking means no TMJ disorder is not true.  These displaced discs can cause other symptoms of neck pain, backache, loss of balance, or hearing loss without the clicking or popping.

Another common myth is that TMJ disorder is harmless and that living with it will not cause problems.  It is true this condition is non-life-threatening but at the same time, it should be addressed.  Some possible development would be bruxism.  This process causes grinding of your teeth and clenching, wearing down your tooth’s enamel, and can cause sleep issues.  If the tooth enamel is worn down, then the potential of decay or tooth loss becomes greater.

For the sleep side of things, sleep can be interrupted by the clenching and grinding of your teeth.  Interrupted sleep or waking up unrefreshed is a symptom of both TMJ disorder and sleep apnea. It is not considered just a sleep issue.  The myth of sleep issues coming with age is not exactly true.  The aging process does decrease the tone in muscles and the airway muscles are not immune to this. The muscles in the airway no longer hold the jaw in the correct place and in turn, the airway becomes restricted. Your body is now fighting harder to breathe.  The use of a CPAP as the only treatment for sleep apnea is another myth.  The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has determined that an oral sleep appliance is very effective for mild to moderate apnea index.  This index tells us how many times your sleep is interrupted within a night.  The Epworth scale (tiredness level) in conjunction with the apnea index can determine if the oral appliance will be effective.

An interesting myth, sleeping on your side cures sleep apnea, actually helps with sleep apnea but does not cure it. By sleeping on your side, the tongue is not relaxed enough to obstruct the airway by falling back into the throat creating a blockage.  The tongue is off to the side allowing air to pass through the airway.  This is noted with mild cases of sleep apnea.  The side sleeping is most definitely not a cure but is recommended a lot for “positional apnea”.

There are so many more myths out there for both TMJ and sleep disorders.  Always consult with your dentist or physician when it comes to these issues.  You do want to address these symptoms because both these conditions will affect your brain and in turn affect cognitive functions, generating higher stress, and possible memory loss.

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