A Surprising Connection: How Posterior Tongue Ties Can Trigger Headaches and Migraines
Posterior tongue ties have long been associated with breastfeeding difficulties and speech impediments. However, recent research suggests that this seemingly isolated issue can also have a broader impact on an individual's full-body health, particularly in the realm of headaches and migraines.
How a tongue tie becomes a headache
The posterior tongue tie's effect on tongue movement and muscle tension can lead to changes in cranial posture and muscle activation patterns, potentially contributing to the development of headaches and migraines.
What I see in practice
I want to be straightforward here: there is no published clinical research yet testing tongue-tie release as a treatment for headache disorders. This is an emerging area, and formal research is exactly what the field needs. What I can offer is clinical observation, clearly labelled as such.
Among my own clients — most of whom come to me for their voice, not their head — a striking number who also live with chronic headaches report that those headaches change after a release. One client had experienced near-daily debilitating migraines since the age of thirteen and had been prescribed narcotics for pain relief. After her tongue tie release, she reports roughly two migraines a month, managed with over-the-counter pain relief. That is one person's experience rather than evidence, and it should be read that way — but it is the kind of pattern that makes a question worth researching properly.
While the association between posterior tongue ties and headaches/migraines is still an emerging field of study, understanding and exploring the impact of posterior tongue ties on tongue movement and muscle tension may pave the way for innovative therapeutic approaches, and even potentially offer relief to those who have thus far not found any. If you feel like you could be a potential candidate for a tongue tie release based on these symptoms — please talk to a tongue tie release practitioner to get a formal diagnosis and find out more!