Tongue & Lip Ties

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The tongue is a remarkable muscle and is really part of a larger structure of muscles/bones/etc of the skull, spine, jaw and neck. It is the only muscle in our body that has one end that moves freely, unattached to any other body structures and at its other end is attached to eight other muscles. 

"A baby's complex suck-swallow-breathe sequence requires the function of 6 cranial nerves, 6 cervical nerves and a few thoracic nerves coordinating 31 muscles in the lips, cheeks, tongue, jaw, chin, soft palate etc" 

(Carol Smyth, IBCLC). 

Because of this, it is not uncommon for newborns/infants to have some sort of tension that can result in their suck, swallow, or breathing being affected.   

Tongue ties or (ankyloglossia): During the embryologic development, this muscle is initially attached to the floor of the mouth. This attachment usually partially disappears and in most cases reduces naturally from the tip toward the base of the tongue. When this piece of tissue fails to disappear or reduce its attachment, it may restrict the ability of the tongue to function and have adequate mobility and function. Just because an infant may have a tongue tie it does not automatically mean they need to have it revised. 

There are numerous instances where the combination of some body work (CST, chiropractor, osteopathy, etc) and working closely with an IBCLC can improve the infant's tongue function and ability to suck/swallow/breathe effectively.