Eliza’s Tongue- and Lip-Tie Journey: A Myofascial & Chiropractic Perspective
Eliza’s Tongue- and Lip-Tie Journey: A Myofascial & Chiropractic Perspective
Introduction
Hello and welcome to my blog! As many of you know, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Eliza at the end of March. The birth was a bit rough, but we were able to take five weeks and recover at home before returning to practice. Since then, our patients have been able to enjoy seeing Eliza at work with me everyday, and they have all commented on how amazing she is. She is all around a well-adjusted baby (literally and figuratively)! Despite how wonderful she is, she has also been silently struggling with an issue for several months which we were able to recently address.
Our family’s journey with Eliza and her tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) and lip-tie (maxillary frenum) has been both challenging and illuminating. In this post, I want to share insights concerning anatomy, evidence-based research, and holistic therapies—including chiropractic care, myofascial release, and craniosacral therapy—that supported her, along with the remarkable improvements we witnessed following her surgical procedures.
What Are Tongue- and Lip-Ties, and How Do They Affect Infants?
Eliza had difficulty feeding immediately after birth. She was delivered “sunny-side up” with both hands at her face. This resulted in a lot of swelling and bruising over her left TMJ, eye, and forehead. She was not able to open her mouth to latch for several minutes, but I was able to gently adjust Eliza during that first hour, which allowed her to latch and nurse until she fell asleep. However, more swelling settled in over night and by the next day she could hardly open her mouth. My midwife instructed me to syringe feed her my breastmilk which resulted in a lot of air intake, gas, and colic. As any parent knows, this is a nightmare for a newborn. Good thing her mom is a chiropractor and could give her gentle adjustments and soft tissue work to help alleviate symptoms! Those first few days she was only able to eat small amounts at a time, and I felt like my life had turned into cycles of pumping, syringe feeding, a 20 minute nap, and repeat. One of the other side-effects of these types of feeds is that Eliza was only getting the sugary fore-milk and none of the protein and fat filled hind-milk. This resulted in green, mucousy bowel movements with a lot of gas and crying. Often, mothers are told this is a sign of a milk allergy and to cut out dairy, or to switch to sensitive baby formula and stop breast-feeding. However, for Eliza these symptoms were associated with too much sugar in her diet, not an allergy. Plus, Breast milk is the optimal source of early nutrition for all infants until at least six months of age and maternal milk is crucial for development (11). We were able to see a lactation consultant who gave us a nipple shield which helped her finally latch. She was still struggling with getting enough milk, having long and tiring feeds, and slow weight gain. She was struggling with a lip and tongue tie.
Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a congenital condition where a short, thick, or tight lingual frenulum limits tongue movement (9). There are many different types of tongue ties and some can be released with soft tissue work and adjustments, while others require myotherapy (PT for the tongue and mouth) or surgical intervention with a pediatric dentist. Some recent research also suggests tongue or lip ties can be hereditary in nature, specifically from an X-chromosome or MTHFR gene (10). A Lip-tie is a restriction of the upper or lower lip's frenulum that can impact feeding comfort and function (2). Eliza had a full lip tie that was visible early on, and her tongue tie was less severe, but still affected her latch.
Infants with tongue-tie often face breastfeeding difficulties such as poor latch, inefficient milk transfer, and maternal nipple pain (9). While some infants are asymptomatic, others may develop articulation or mechanical challenges later in life such as difficulty with speech, swallowing, or tightness in the chest and diaphragm which results in restricted breathing (9). One of the first things I noticed about Eliza was that she snored, and loudly. Babies shouldn’t snore! She was rivaling my husband keeping me awake. I also noticed that Eliza could hold her head up right away while being held or during tummy time; this is not normal for newborns and indicates too much tension in the body, specifically the spinal dura. She would also feed or sleep in an “arched backwards” posture, another sign that her body was stuck in a deep tension pattern. Sometimes she would make “clicking” sounds when feeding, often a symptom of a poor latch. I also noticed that she would suckle with the wrong muscles in her mouth and jaw, resulting in her becoming fatigued before the end of a feed. Unfortunately, this can lead to babies burning more calories than they are gaining during a feed.
At our one week follow up visit, I was so surprised when my midwife told me Eliza should be draining a breast in 5-10 minutes when it was taking her 30-45 minutes. I felt validated that her feeds were taking a lot out of both of us, and knew I needed to seek help. We decided to try soft tissue work first, being the least invasive treatment. So Eliza saw Ann at our office for myofascial release. This helped immensely with her posture and comfort while feeding. So let’s talk a little bit about fascia and its concepts.
Myofascial Anatomy Trains: Understanding Whole-Body Connections
The concept of Anatomy Trains—developed by Thomas Myers—maps the body's myofascial connections, illustrating how tension or restrictions in one area can ripple throughout myofascial meridians (5). The tongue and its fascial network are integrated into the broader fascial system; when tongue mobility is restricted, compensatory tension may develop in areas like the neck, jaw, diaphragm, pelvis, and legs, affecting breathing and posture (5). I often tell patients that they can’t move their big toe without pulling on their tongue! For infants, this means that oral restrictions don’t only affect feeding, but can negatively effect shoulder and hip/pelvic motion which can delay or affect milestone development such as crawling, holding their head their up, and sitting up unassisted.
The New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force's presentation on bodywork methods underlines how myofascial release techniques—such as cheek, tongue, jaw, and intraoral releases—can help release tension in infants with tongue- or lip-ties (6). Ann Wagner is our MFR therapist in the office and has been using John Barnes Myofascial Release Technique for the last two years. I knew right away that MFR was imperative to helping Eliza get immediate comfort and relief. A 2024 study examining the use of osteopathic myofascial release in infants with sucking difficulties found that infants had significantly more successful, continuous suctions per feeding (p < 0.00001) and mothers were able to maintain exclusively breastfeeding for longer periods (p-values ranging from < 0.003 to < 0.00001) after getting these releases (1). This suggests that when combined with neuromotor facilitation techniques, myofascial release can meaningfully support feeding mechanics in infants. As a chiropractor who treats pediatric patients, I have seen first hand how a gentle adjustment or tissue release can change the comfort of both the infant and the mother!
After Eliza’s first treatment, she was able to sleep and eat in a more relaxed posture, as well as feed with less nipple pain (thank goodness)! She was also less stiff in her arms and legs which allowed her to get dressed with less discomfort (she could bend her arms to go into sleeves), and she had easier bowel movements (she could wiggle her hips and kick her legs). Our next stop was seeing a Craniosacral therapist (CST) who has a lot of experience with babies. She noticed right away that Eliza’s diaphragm was really restricted, as was her neck, tongue, and jaw. The CST was able to do a tongue release and show me how to do some gentle torso movements at home to help guide Eliza’s body into a more relaxed state.
After a few months I saw that Eliza was improving in her weight gain and growing rapidly. I forgot about the tongue and lip tie concerns until I noticed a few things that bothered me. She started to have more issues with tummy time, and at 3 months couldn’t hold her head up for more than 30 seconds. This was a serious decline from being able to hold her head up for several minutes just a few weeks before. She would still use the wrong parts of her mouth to nurse, and feeding would still “pinch” and leave me with discomfort every time she fed. She still seemed hungry all the time and would only sleep for 2-3 hours at a time MAX. I was so jealous of my patients with babies that would sleep 4-6 hours at a time.
As a practitioner who works with infants, I know that tongue ties don’t have a strict diagnostic criteria and have been over diagnosed and over treated for years (8); that’s one of the reasons I tell my patients to try conservative measures first. At this point, I knew I needed to get a second opinion and see a pediatric dentist who could properly diagnose and treat (or not). I chose Buehler Family Dental after talking with her CST. On Dr. Buehler’s site, she highlights how restricted tethered oral tissues (RTOTs) can affect early development, emphasizing the importance of early recognition and intervention (7). I knew I didn’t want Eliza to grow up and struggle with these issues if they could be easily treated as an infant. When we had our visit with Dr. Buehler, she diagnosed Eliza with a level 4 lip tie and a level 2 tongue tie. We discussed with each other concerns and treatment options (as well as not treating). I decided to get both procedures done for Eliza, and within 30 minutes we were on our way home. The results were immediate.
Lingual Frenulum Release: Evidence of Improvement
The first thing I noticed was that feeding Eliza was no longer painful. She was also more relaxed in her posture and demeanor during her feeds, and could drain a breast in 5 minutes. She was now getting both the fore-milk and hind-milk during feeds and no longer had green, uncomfortable bowel movements. Evidence shows that these tongue and lip tie releases can improve GI function and the baby’s ability to fully drain a breast during a single feed (12). She was also able to sleep through the night; the first evening she slept form 9:00 pm to 6:00 am, and I kept waking up every few hours expecting her to need me. She started taking REAL naps of 1-2 hours instead of 5-10 minutes, so now I could see patients for a whole hour while she slept. When Ann was able to do MFR on her, it was noted how easily her body could move and how much more comfortable she was receiving treatment.
Evidence supports that frenotomy or frenuloplasty can be an effective intervention for symptomatic infants as studies report meaningful increases in LATCH® scores, maternal feeding efficiency, and reduced pain (all with highly significant p-values) (2). These releases also result in immediate and short-term improvements with faster milk transfer after tongue-tie release (3). I was so excited to see her start to thrive again. Tummy time was no longer a fit of crying, and she regained head control. Pooping was no longer a problem and she had no more colic or gas. Good-bye to the screaming baby and hello to a happy healthy Eliza!
Chiropractic Care, MFR & Craniosacral Therapy: Holistic Pathways to Support
While direct research on chiropractic and craniosacral therapies for tongue-tie is limited, we utilize these modalities everyday in our practice. We see them time and time again assist mothers and babies with their breastfeeding relationship, health, and quality of life. These holistic treatments also align naturally with the myofascial and holistic philosophy we hold dear in our office. We know chiropractic care can help optimize postural alignment and reduce compensatory tension in infants who may adopt atypical head, neck, or body postures due to oral restrictions. Craniosacral therapy uses gentle touch modulation of cranial rhythms to help support subtle fascial releases, soothe autonomic tension (stress in the body), and enhance overall regulation— this is especially important after a procedure like frenotomy. MFR does the same thing by releasing fascial restrictions through the body and allowing the infant to enter a state of “ease”. These therapies complement each other by addressing the holistic fascial network, reinforcing fluidity and reducing tension in connected regions, and as we teach our patients, everything is connected.
Eliza’s Experience: Our Observed Improvements
In Eliza’s case, after a coordinated approach of frenotomy, combined with chiropractic sessions, craniosacral work, and gentle myofascial releases, we observed a noticeable improvement in her latch and feeding efficiency, echoing the clinical findings of improved LATCH® scores and reduced maternal pain (2). Eliza was able to have more consistent and effective feeding, aligning with outcomes reported in studies of myofascial intervention (1). She had greater ease in head and neck posture during feeds and sleep, likely supported by chiropractic adjustments and fascial release techniques. Eliza’s journey underscores how an integrative, evidence-informed approach—anchored in a deep appreciation and understanding of anatomy and physiology, targeted manual therapies, and surgical procedures when necessary- all helped to support her growth and development so she can be the best version of herself. This journey also highlights the importance of discerning intervention decisions—anchored in symptoms, not just diagnosis, and supported by qualified lactation and healthcare professionals. Eliza’s resilience, combined with gentle, informed care, reminds me that every baby’s journey can be honored with thoughtful, evidence-supported support.
If you are a mother and are are being told the fussiness, colic, sleepless nights, and constant screaming are “normal” or a “right of passage”, I hope this journey shows you that there are options. No baby cries because they want to, or for no reason. There is always an underlying issue that needs addressed, whether is is easily seen or unseen. Let us help you evaluate and direct you to the right treatment options for you and your baby so we can all grow into a happy and healthy community.
Feel Well and Do Good,
ADIO
Dr. Super
References
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