What is myofunctional therapy?

What is myofunctional therapy?

Myofunctional therapy is a program of specific exercises for the muscles around the face, mouth and tongue. These exercises are designed to improve issues with breathing, sleeping, eating, chewing, swallowing or talking. These exercises strengthen the specific muscles.

Myofunctional therapy may also be an effective treatment for sleep-disordered breathing such as heavy snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep specialists or dentists or orthodontists use myofunctional therapy to improve breathing problems during sleep. For obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients, their throat muscles and tongue are more relaxed during sleep which resulting in a collapse of their airway. Myofunctional therapy exercises can help to increase the tone and strength of these upper airway muscles which can reduce the collapse of the upper airway during sleep.

Myofunctional therapy treatment is non-invasive, safe and relatively inexpensive. It may be an attractive alternative for sleep apnea in places of treatments such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or surgery. The therapy may be useful for other conditions such as morning headaches, Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain etc.

How does myofunctional therapy work?

Myofunctional therapy is a program of specific exercises that helps treat orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs). An orofacial myofunctional disorder occurs when an improper position of lip, jaw or tongue interferes with development and function of person's orofacial structures. OMDs can negatively impact breathing, sleeping, eating, chewing, swallowing or talking and even jaw movement.

Common causes of OMDs may include blocked nasal passages because of the size of the tonsils, anything that causes a misplaced tongue position during sleep. Where some common symptoms of OMDs may include sleep apnea, teeth grinding, mouth breathing due to difficulty in nose breathing, limited tongue movement, speech issues such as difficulty or inability saying some sounds like ‘s’ or ‘j’, sucking and chewing habits past the age of 3, facial pain, difficulty closing the lips when trying to swallow etc.

Myofunctional therapy can be performed by a speech-language therapist or a dentist or an orthodontist or a sleep specialist. Myofunctional therapy uses neuromuscular re-education exercises to help normalize posture for tongue and lips, treating heavy snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, establishing nasal breathing patterns, establishing lip seal, eliminating habits like thumb-sucking etc. These exercises teach muscles, nerves, and brain how to restore optimal movement. Practicing these exercises regularly will increase muscle strength and coordination. Myofunctional therapist will most likely give various exercises to complete at home to focus on breathing, sleeping, eating, chewing, swallowing or talking.

Myofunctional therapy exercises

Myofunctional therapy can be performed by a speech-language therapist or a dentist or an orthodontist or a sleep specialist. Myofunctional therapist will create an individualized exercises program for individual patient based on severity of symptoms and other medical condition. Each these exercises should be done for minimum 10 seconds and repeated 10 times and done at least 4 times per day which will take total nearly 60 minutes per day to get maximum benefits.

Cone-beam CT (CBCT):  This scan is used to assess the airway, TMJ and nasal cavity.

Push up the tongue:  Push the tip of the tongue against the hard palate just behind the top teeth and push upwards and hold for few seconds. Now in the opposite direction, push the tip of the tongue against the hard palate just behind the bottom teeth and push downwards and hold for few seconds.

Force the tongue:  Position the tongue upward against the roof of the mouth and press entire tongue against it. Ensure the tip of the tongue is touching the back of upper teeth. Hold this position for few seconds. Now in the opposite direction, position the tongue dowward against the floor of the mouth and press entire tongue against it. Ensure the tip of the tongue is touching the back of lower teeth.

Slide the tongue:  Slide the tip of the tongue on top front teeth and then slowly slide the tongue backwards. Now in the opposite direction, slide the tip of the tongue on bottom front teeth and then slowly slide the tongue backwards.

Stick out the tongue in all directions:  Stick out the tongue and try to touch the tip of the nose and hold for few seconds, then relax, again stick out the tongue and try to lick the bottom of the chin and hold for few seconds, then relax, again stick out the tongue and move it as far as to the left and hold for few seconds, then relax, again stick out the tongue and move it as far as to the right and hold for few seconds, then relax.

Clench the tongue:  Hold the tongue gently without biting too hard in between the lower and upper front teeth. Perform 5 swallows while holding the tongue between the teeth.

Click the tongue:  Click the tongue by making a loud clicking sound with the tongue while pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth.

Nasal breathing exercise:  Keep the mouth closed, press the finger/thumb on one nostril and breathe out gently through the other nostril, do it vice versa. This process will help to determine which nostril tends to be more or less congested. After determining, press the finger/thumb on the less congested nostril and breathe through the more congested nostril.

Hold a Spoon using lips:  Put the handle of a metal spoon between the lips without help of teeth and hold it in place for few seconds.

Inflate a balloon:  Take a deep breath from the nose and exhale from the mouth to inflate a balloon as much as possible.

Blow the air:  Blow the air out through a party horn or similar items.