How Can Myofunctional Therapy Treat Sleep Apnea?

How Can Myofunctional Therapy Treat Sleep Apnea?

Feb 09, 2023

How Can Myofunctional Therapy Treat Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder in which breathing suddenly stops and begins during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type. It occurs when the muscles at the back of the throat relax too much during sleep, partially or entirely blocking the airway. It stops breathing briefly, and the brain signals you to wake up and open the airway for proper breathing. It can happen several times daily.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

  • Loud snoring
  • Awakening with a dry mouth
  • Breathing stops during sleep (often reported by another person)
  • Gasping for air during sleep
  • Waking with a sore throat
  • Morning headaches
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness or hypersomnia
  • Difficulty staying asleep (insomnia)
  • Difficulty concentrating or paying attention during the day
  • Waking up feeling tired or sleepy Irritability

If not treated, sleep apnea can affect your health in various ways. For instance, sleep apnea reduces oxygen flow to vital body organs like the heart and brain, increasing your risk of cardiovascular and memory problems.

Sleep apnea can also cause sleep deprivation, leading to daytime sleepiness and increasing the risks of traffic and work-related accidents. That said, it’s advisable to seek help for sleep apnea treatment in Westwood, MA.

Treating Sleep Apnea with Myofunctional Therapy

Myofunctional therapy is an exercise training program that targets the muscles around your mouth, face, and tongue. These exercises improve certain functions like eating, talking, and breathing. The treatment is safe, effective, comfortable, and relatively inexpensive, making it an excellent alternative to surgery or CPAP machines.

How Does Myofunctional Therapy Work?

The myofunctional therapy exercise program treats orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs). These are abnormal movement patterns of the mouth or face that can be caused by:

  • Chewing and sucking habits
  • Factors that cause a misplaced tongue position
  • Blocked nasal passages

Myofunctional therapy uses neuromuscular exercises to normalize the face and mouth structures to restore optimal movements. They aim to improve lip seal, tongue position, and nasal breathing.

According to research, you can use myofunctional therapy exercises to:

  • Improve sleep-disordered breathing, specifically obstructive sleep apnea and snoring
  • Treat speech disorders
  • Improve eating function after surgery
  • Treat malocclusion (not as effective as orthodontic treatments)
  • Correct tongue thrust, an infantile swallowing pattern that can lead to speech and dental problems

How Does Myofunctional Therapy Treat Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea happens when the muscles of the soft tissue in your throat relax too much during sleep, closing the airway.

Myofunctional exercises can help improve the function of muscles in your upper airway to help keep the airway open. These exercises can also help improve nasal breathing and reposition the tongue, ensuring your airway remains open during sleep.

Myofunctional therapy is like physical therapy of the face. A professional therapist certified by the International Association of Orofacial Myology can perform the therapy.

The therapist will begin by evaluating your condition and develop a custom treatment plan targeting your muscles to improve their functions. The treatment can consist of various exercises, including:

  • Tongue touches. You push the tip of the tongue against the hard palate. Then, the therapist slides the tongue backward 20 times.
  • Tongue presses. It involves sucking your tongue upwards against the palate and then pressing the entire tongue against the palate 20 times.
  • Teeth touches. Force the back of the tongue against the mouth roof while keeping the tip in contact with the bottom front teeth 20 times.
  • Uvula raises. Elevate the Uvula and m soft palate while saying “A” 20 times.
  • Balloon inflation. Take five large breaths through the nose and exhale into a balloon as much as possible.
  • Yogurt suction. You can be asked to suck yogurt using a narrow straw.
  • Party horn. You might be asked to perform the exercises by blowing through a party horn.

While research on myofunctional therapy is still ongoing, researchers have found strong evidence that the therapy can help treat sleep-disordered breathing conditions like snoring and sleep apnea.

Are you interested in Myofunctional Therapy in Westwood, MA? For more information about sleep apnea and myofunctional therapy, contact Westwood Dental Group.

Call Now Schedule Now
Click to listen highlighted text!