Daily Archives: September 26, 2021

(Photo : Pexels/Pixabay) VACCINE

Anti-vaccine Facebook groups are pushing for hazardous movements. They've been sending out messages to their followers instructing them to avoid emergency rooms and get their loved ones out of intensive care units.

The anti-vaxxers are consumed by conspiracy theories claiming that doctors are preventing patients who are unvaccinated from getting "miracle cures." Some even went as far as claiming that doctors kill unvaccinated patients on purpose.

People active in the anti-vaccine Facebook groups tell their followers with COVID-19 to avoid going to hospitals and instead try at-home treatments, which is very dangerous as they've not been scientifically proven.

According toNBC News, the messages in the groups show an escalation in the mistrust of medical professionals that began in the past few months on social media like Facebook, which have attempted to remove COVID-19 misinformation.

Meanwhile, doctors stated that hospitals are filled up because of the recent delta variant wave, according toVOX.

Also Read:Facebook's Fight Against Anti-Vaxxers May Not Be Enough as Pages Continue to Grow and Sell Merchandise

Wes Ely, an ICU doctor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said that they were down to four COVID-19 patients two months ago.

Since the surge, they've had 50 patients with COVID-19 on four ICU units, and 97% of them are not vaccinated. He added that the conspiracy theories circulating online are increasing the steam.

The concerns reflect numerous local reports about the increasing threats and violence directed toward medical professionals.

In Missouri, a medical center installed panic buttons on employee badges because of the increase in assaults.

Violence and threats against medical professionals have been reported in Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Idaho.

While COVID-19 misinformation has been a problem since the pandemic's beginning, the introduction of vaccines has invigorated the anti-vaccine community. It sparked a new push to look for and promote alternative treatments, some of which are very dangerous.

Other anti-vaxxers are turning away from hospitals. In the past few weeks, some anti-vaccine Facebook groups and influencers on Telegram have offered their followers instructions on how to get their family members released from the hospital even if they are not cleared yet.

According to the instructions, people can insist that their loved one be transferred into hospice care. The anti-vaxxers have recorded those removed from hospitals for viral videos, which were then posted on the platforms.

Some people in the Facebook groups formed recently are promoting the false cure ivermectin, an anti-parasite medicine for horses, according toThe Washington Post.

The anti-vaccine groups claimed that removing COVID-19 patients from hospitals is important to"self-medicate" at home using ivermectin.

However, as the patients realize that the horse medicine is ineffective, the groups have begun recommending several other hazardous at-home treatments, like nebulizing and inhaling hydrogen peroxide, gargling with iodine, and more.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America had released a warning against the alternative medicine promoted online like nebulizing hydrogen peroxide.

With COVID-19 cases increasing among those who refuse to get the vaccine and disinformation about it continue to spread online, anti-vaxxers have given rise to what is called a "vigilante medicine."

The label was given because patients are not taking lifesaving care from medical professionals and would instead try alternative medicine posted on Facebook.

Anti-vaccine Facebook groups are now changing the namesof their pages to avoid detection as Facebook launched a campaign to shut down groups and pages run by anti-vaxxers.

Related Article: Facebook Discovers Marketing Firm's Anti-Vaxx Campaign, Pays Influencers to Spread Disinformation About Vaccine

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Anti-Vaccine Facebook Groups Have Been Imploring People to Stay Away from the ICU - Tech Times

The popularity of yoga is surging. According to the 2016 Yoga in America Study (published by the Yoga Alliance), the number of people doing yoga increased from 20.4 million in 2012 to 36 million in 2016.

The benefits of a regular practice can be wide-ranging, including relief from pain, increased strength and flexibility, stress relief, better breathing, weight management, cardiovascular conditioning, better circulation, and a calmer mood, according to the Yoga Alliance.

And while nearly every version of this ancient practice incorporates some degree of strength, flexibility, and breath work to improve mental and physical well-being, not all practices are alike. Within yoga, you can find variations that run the full gamut from gentle restorative practices to sweaty, challenging workouts.

So, if you want to get into yoga, there are indeed a lot of options. And if any of the following myths about yoga have been keeping you from trying it, don't let them.

Social media is rife with yogis who can move their bodies in unimaginable ways, so its easy to see why you might think yoga is only for flexible folks. But its time for a reality check.

You dont do yoga because youre flexible; you do it to increase your flexibility and mobility, explains Samantha Clayton, an International Sports Science Association (ISSA)certified yoga instructor coach and a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)certified personal trainer based in Los Angeles. We all have to start somewhere, and each pose can be modified to fit where you are on your own personal flexibility journey.

Yoga (and the stretching youll do as part of it) is good for all levels of exercisers. And while you may never be able to stretch like the Instagram yogis, your flexibility will improve over time. Most people start noticing a difference after three to four weeks of practice, says Clayton, who is also the vice president of worldwide sports performance and fitness for Herbalife Nutrition and a former Olympic runner.

Good news: That back pain shouldnt disqualify you. Yoga can be modified for almost any medical condition, says Samantha Parker, an exercise physiologist with the United States Air Force in Washington, DC, a Yoga Alliancecertified yoga instructor, and an International Association of Yogacertified yoga therapist (meaning she is trained to modify yoga practices for various health and medical issues).

For instance, if you have glaucoma (a disease that damages the optic nerves in your eyes), youll need to avoid dropping your head below your heart, which means youll have to modify certain poses, Parker says.

While medical issues shouldnt hold you back from doing yoga, if you do have a health condition and youre not sure if yoga is suitable for you, check with your doctor first and ask if theres any movement you shouldnt be doing, Parker says.

Then talk with the yoga instructor before class to let him or her know you have certain moves you need to avoid. The instructor should be able to show you pose modifications to make that happen. (If your instructor is a certified yoga therapist, he or she can recommend modifications for specific health conditions, Parker adds.)

Though often associated culturally with Hinduism and Buddhism, yoga does not necessitate a set of religious beliefs and can be practiced in a completely secular way, according to the Yoga Alliance.

Yoga does, though, promote the idea of peace and purpose, which some people equate with spirituality, Parker says. If youre not into that, seek classes and instructors who focus solely on the physical aspects of yoga.

Women do make up a majority of yoga participants 72 percent female versus 28 percent male, according to the 2016 Yoga in America studybut the benefits of yoga extend to anyone who is interested in fitness.

Yoga helps everyone improve joint mobility, range of motion, and overall core stability, Clayton says. These benefits can help both men and women with performance goals across a wide range of sports, he says, from weight lifting to running and much more. Plus, yoga promotes good posture and muscular control and involves many of the smaller stabilizing muscles and tendons that may not get the same attention and stimulation with other workouts.

Yoga does involve a lot of stretching, but youre gaining more than just flexibility and mobility. Youre also building strength. Many of the movements involve holding your own body weight as resistance, and this can improve muscular strength and endurance, Clayton says.

In a study published in June 2015 in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, for instance, a 12-week yoga program improved not only flexibility but also cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength and endurance in a group of healthy adults.

Parker doesnt mince words when she hears this myth. You have time, youre just choosing to spend it doing other things, she says.

And, she says, theres no minimum or maximum amount of time you need to do yoga. Longer yoga sessions can offer more benefits (depending on why youre practicing and what results youre looking for), but even short ones can boost mood, relieve stress, and increase physical fitness. You can do simple yoga flows at your desk to alleviate pain, increase cognitive function, and lower stress, Parker says. Or do five minutes of Sun Salutations in the morning or at night to achieve those same effects.

RELATED: A 5-Minute Stress Relief and Calming Yoga Flow

Because of the restorative, strengthening, and meditative aspects of yoga, experts say the right type of yoga complements nearly any other type of physical activity. If your muscles are tight, your muscles are also weak, and if you lack flexibility, youre unable to access the muscles entire power potential, Parker says. By doing yoga, you may find that you can perform better in other activities like strength training and aerobic exercise.

Plus, yoga gives those muscles much-needed relief from other activities. Most yoga is designed to heal and aid in active recovery, Parker says.

The key is finding the right practice to balance out the other types of activity youre doing, Parker says. If strength training is your primary focus, look for a yoga practice that focuses on flexibility and mobility. If youre spending most of your time doing cardio, look for a yoga practice that will help you build strength. Or if youre following an intense training plan for an upcoming race or event, check out a restorative yoga practice.

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Myths That Shouldn't Stop You From Doing Yoga - Everyday Health

Earlier this week, the FDA announced that Pfizer was voluntarily recalling all lots of Chantix 0.5mg and 1mg tablets. The drug recall is due to the presence of N-nitroso-varenicline. In large enough quantities, N-nitroso-varenicline can be a carcinogen.

If this recall sounds at all familiar, its because Pfizer back in August issued a similar recall back in August. While that recall involved four lots, the latest recall is far more expansive.

Before addressing the drug recall, lets briefly cover what the drug in question actually is.

To this end, Chantix has been around for more than 15 years. Its an anti-smoking drug that helps users cut back on cigarettes at a slow and steady pace. When it works as designed, smokers will stop smoking completely in about three months. As weve covered previously, the way Chantix works is somewhat novel. The drug essentially latches onto nicotine receptors in the brain. In turn, when a person on the drug smokes a cigarette, the nicotine has nowhere to latch onto. This serves to lessen the high of smoking and discourage future use.

Like many recalls with respect to both food and drugs the actual risk here is low. Note that N-nitroso-varenicline can often be found in grilled meats, dairy products, and vegetables. In other words, its not uncommon for someone to be exposed to nitrosamines. However, prolonged exposure can be risky.

Pfizer, despite the drug recall, makes a point of stating that the health benefits of stopping smoking outweigh the potential risk of cancer from nitrosamines.

Pfizer believes the benefit/risk profile of CHANTIX remains positive, the recall notice reads in part. Patients currently taking Chantix should consult with their doctor to confirm if they received an affected lot, and if appropriate, about alternative treatment options. To date, Pfizer has not received any reports of adverse events that have been related to this recall.

Additionally, there is no immediate risk to anyone currently taking Chantix.

The FDAs information page regarding nitrosamines reads:

The FDA put together a chart that maps out all the impacted Chantix lots. That list can be viewed over here. If you have the drug and you see it listed, you can contact Stericycle Inc. at 888-276-6166. The customer support line there is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM ET. When you call, youll be given instructions regarding how to return the drug and get reimbursed.

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If you take this popular prescription medicine, stop immediately and read this - BGR

According to IMARC Groups latest report, titled Complementary and Alternative Medicine Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026, the global complementary and alternative medicine market exhibited strong growth during 2015-2020. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) includes numerous medical products and practices that are usually not a part of conventional or standard medical treatment. It primarily comprises of self-administered products and activities, such as herbal medicines, dietary supplements, homeopathic remedies, and yoga, with chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage therapy. CAM also includes manipulative and body-based practices, whole medical systems, and biofield therapy. Currently, CAM is extensively used to treat cancer by alleviating common side effects of chemotherapy, such as pain, fatigue, and nausea.

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The increasing consumer preferences towards natural products and gentle therapies are primarily augmenting the global market for complementary and alternative medicines. Additionally, the growing incidences of numerous chronic ailments are also driving the demand for CAM for disease diagnosis and prevention. Moreover, numerous health insurance companies are offering CAM coverage in their medical plans, thereby further propelling the market growth. Due to the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a rising inclination towards natural or alternative medicines to treat coronavirus infection. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the global complementary and alternative medicine market to grow at a CAGR of around 15% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis takes over the world, we are continuously tracking the changes in the markets, as well as the industry behaviors of the consumers globally and our estimates about the latest market trends and forecasts are being done after considering the impact of this pandemic.

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Complementary and Alternative Medicine Market Segmentation:

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Complementary and Alternative Medicine Market Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecast 2021-26 Stillwater Current - Stillwater Current

I just had my first childa baby girlin January of 2016. I noticed that a lot of other new moms around me were bouncing back quickly after pregnancy and delivery. But I felt the opposite. I was so lethargic I couldnt even get out of bed. In my head I thought, This is new mom stuff. But I never came out of that "new mom stuff."

I could tell something was off about my body. Yes, we experienced all the normal challenges of a new baby at home. Our daughter had a difficult time sleeping as an infant (which is to be expected), and we got very few hours of sleep when she was born.

I spent most of the night awake and trying to feed and care for her. I was able to take care of her okay, but was having a really difficult time elsewhere. Id try to go for a walk and it felt physically impossible.

My doctor ran a bunch of tests trying to uncover the source of my fatigue. They looked for thyroid dysfunction, autoimmune diseases, adrenal fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome and depression was also considered. I received a test for Lyme disease. That test was negative, and so my doctors threw the possibility of Lyme out the window.

Still, my symptoms kept getting worse and worse. I was unable to get out of bed because my chronic pain and fatigue was so bad. I was miserable and kept seeing different doctors to try to find answers.

"My intuition told me that there was something wrong. Im glad I listened."

After doing research, I really thought that what I had was Lyme disease. Doctors wouldnt retest me, though, because my initial test was negative. However, I wanted to make sure that test wasnt a false negative.

Fast-forward to my visit to a functional medicine doctor. He told me I had adrenal fatigue and attributed my fatigue to being a new mom, once again. He sent me home with the recommendation to take a bunch of supplements, such as vitamin B12 and rhodiola. My doctor kept promising me that in three, then six months Id feel better. I never felt better.

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I knew I had so many symptoms because, at each doctors office I visited, Id have to fill out an intake form and list them all. Beyond the fatigue, I developed pretty bizarre symptoms. My muscles would twitch and wouldnt stop. In the middle-of-the-night, Id wake up shaking and my husband would have to hold me until it passed. The fatigue was like being weighed down by bags of sand.

When you write even 30 or 40 symptoms, the personnel at the office start giving you looks like something is wrong with you mentally. I was telling the truth. Ask any member of my family who has been through a day of this hell with me. The longer medical doctors put you off and dont take you seriously, the crazier you look. My gut, though? It said something was off.

The answer was no, but he agreed to give me a Lyme screening test, which is basically a questionnaire about your symptoms and the likelihood that you contracted Lyme. My score indicated a high probability of Lyme.

Finally, my doctor sent me to an infectious disease doctor. That doctor ran another blood test and, sure enough, I was positive for Lyme disease. This was 2018. I'm not sure how or when I contracted Lyme exactly, but I must've gotten a tick bite at one point in my life.

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I was treated with the standard 30-day dose of antibiotics used for Lyme disease. After the antibiotics, I went to a second infectious disease doctor because I still did not feel well or feel like myself. That doctor said that it was impossible for me to still have Lyme disease after being treated with two weeks of antibiotics. Instead, she, too, chalked my symptoms up to motherhood.

I was a run down, stressed out mom, she told me, and the best thing for me was to be on an antidepressant. I just thought, Im not depressed. The only thing thats depressing me is that I cant get anyone to help me with whats wrong with my body. And this was from a female doctor who was also a mom. She said that she was a tired mom, too, so she understood. I felt totally brushed off.

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We tried a lot of remedies, from homeopathic drops to infrared sauna therapy. But the biggest thing that made a difference was lowering inflammation by changing my diet drastically. (Always work with a doctor you trust before making major dietary changes to make sure they make sense for you.) Currently, Im slowly reintroducing food to see if I can tolerate it without an inflammatory response.

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Im now walking 10,000 steps per day or more. Im able to homeschool my daughter, be active, and do all the things I love, such as hiking and kayaking. I can garden without stopping. It brings me to tears every time I can do those things. (I've documented my journey on Instagram @againstoilodds.)

My story shows that you have to listen to your gut and be your own advocate. Dont be afraid to ask questionsrepeatedly, if you have to. Get a second, third, or fourth opinion. Dont be afraid to try alternative treatments if you feel stuck. Im glad I never gave up.

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'My Chronic Fatigue Turned Out To Be Lyme Disease' - Women's Health

Some patients who have recovered from Covid could be suffering from lingering symptoms but unlike those with an active infection, they are not contagious, UAE doctors have said.

The condition, called long Covid, may include symptoms like chest pain, fatigue, stress and anxiety, body ache, cough, sore throat and breathing difficulties, among others.

Studies have shown that these Covid-19 aftereffects are likely to stay in the body for many months, said professor Adrian Kennedy, chief wellness officer for Arabian Wellness and Lifestyle Management at RAK Hospital.

Emerging evidence indicates that majority of people who had been hospitalised because of Covid-19 experience symptoms, like fatigue and shortness of breath, months after being discharged from the healthcare facility, Kennedy said.

In Dubai, special clinics have been set up for these long Covid patients.

ALSO READ:

First free online Covid rehab to help long-haulers in UAE

Obesity linked to long Covid-19, RAK hospital study finds

The newly launched post-Covid-19 clinics would be open on Tuesdays at Al Barsha Health Centre and Thursdays at Nad Al Hammar, according to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). The service, however, is not for pregnant women and children under six years of age.

According to healthcare specialists, long-term debilitating effects are observed in about 30 per cent of patients who had been infected with the virus.

Long Covid in UAE: New study says fatigue, depression may last up to 9 months

Since its a new disease, what we have learnt so far is that the symptoms can continue for three weeks or even for three to nine months and pose challenges for people experiencing it. It not only affects patients who were severely sick or hospitalised but, in many instances, it impacted the ones who remained asymptomatic during the infection, Kennedy said.

The most common lingering symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, cough or abdominal pain.

Dr Hammad Khan, ER physician and head of emergency at Prime Hospital, said long-haulers are provided various types of treatment.

Among the most common ones are breathing therapy, stamina training, attention and memory training, and improvement of general fitness, said Dr Khan.

Dr Harkirat S Wilkhoo, lifestyle medicine specialist at RAK Hospital, added: Long Covid symptoms are treated by supportive measures like lifestyle changes (nutrition, physiotherapy, exercise, stress management, dependency management), as well as conventional medicines and alternative medicine (homeopathy, ayurveda, naturopathy),

ayaz@khaleejtimes.com

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UAE: Can long Covid patients still spread the infection? - Khaleej Times

When Kimberly Sheldon was 47, she says made the biggest mistake of her life. That was in 2018, when she says that a dentist explained to her that cutting the tissue under her tongue would help her jaw pain, gum recession, and occasional headaches. Her issues, he said, could be due to the fact that the back of her tongue couldn't reach the roof of her mouth. With a quick laser slice, a $600 charge, and some instruction on tongue exercises, he seemed confident that she would feel better soon after.

But, according to her account, the dentist didn't explain the possible risks, which include nerve damage and scarring that can restrict the tongue. Sheldon only found out about the issues after she experienced them. Since then, she says, the effects have torn her life apart.

The idea that tongue position can contribute to health problems is not well-supported by research, but it's edging towards the mainstream. Millions of people are watching YouTube videos about how the tongue allegedly influences the face and jaw, and books, videos, websites, and social media posts say that improper tongue position can contribute to a host of health issues dental problems, sleep apnea, headaches, neck and back pain, and more. These ideas are especially becoming popular in dentistry echoed by Colgate and a dental hygienists' magazine. Some even claim that changing the tongue position can make people more attractive.

Two proposed solutions to help with an allegedly poor tongue posture are becoming more popular, which may be done together or separately (in Sheldon's case, her dentist recommended both). The first is myofunctional therapy, a series of exercises to strengthen the tongue so that it can rest on the roof of the mouth. Celebrities, including Kourtney Kardashian, are promoting this therapy. The second is surgery on what some practitioners call a tongue-tie a condition in which the tissue under the tongue, called the frenulum, is supposedly restricted.

Some tongue-ties are undisputed diagnoses generally in very young children. In infancy, a type of tongue-tie where the frenulum attaches all the way to the front of the tongue and severely restricts its movement has been treated for hundreds of years. More controversial are hidden, or posterior, tongue-ties, which, as Undark previously reported, are increasingly diagnosed and cut in children. Adult tongue-tie diagnoses also lack rigorous evidence.

Despite the limited evidence, myofunctional therapy and tongue-tie surgeries are increasingly promoted as a treatment for the many ailments attributed to poor tongue posture in adults. Especially concerning, some experts say, is the claim that the therapy is an alternative treatment for sleep apnea, despite a lack of evidence and with possible risks to patients.

Many doctors, however, caution against the idea that changing tongue posture is a panacea. "I think people want to believe that myofunctional therapy is helpful," Eric Kezirian, a professor and physician of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at the University of Southern California, wrote in an email. "The problem is that the history of health care is littered with thousands upon thousands of treatments that were not helpful, or were in many cases harmful, in spite of people's best intentions." (An otolaryngologist is also called an ear, nose, and throat doctor, or ENT.)

To be sure, some patients say that tongue surgery and therapy has been life changing. In an invite-only Facebook group for tongue-tied adults, which has more than 15,000 members, some advocates report improvements in everything from facial composition to migraines, neck tension, anxiety, and even bowel movements. But not everyone has a positive experience. After the numbing wore off from Sheldon's procedure, she says the pain was horrific; her tongue was pulled backwards and pinned down, gagging her. Her dentist recommended more tongue exercises, she says. It didn't help. After months without improvement, Sheldon said a member of the Facebook group referred her to an oral surgeon four hours away, who also set her up with a myofunctional therapist.

The new surgeon said her problems were obvious: The first dentist missed a bit of tissue or ligament, and he would fix it with a second procedure. But after that second laser cut, Sheldon had a persistent painful burning sensation at the base of her tongue, and the tip and the underside became permanently numb some of the nerves were damaged, she recalls being told. She couldn't swallow solid foods, she says, and her weight dropped from 140 pounds to 106. Eventually, she was hospitalized due to difficulty swallowing, and got occupational therapy to help. Now, she sees a doctor every three months for related chronic pain.

* * *

When the frenulum is cut, it could damage nerves, salivary glands, and ducts that lead to salivary glands, says Soroush Zaghi, an otolaryngologist and sleep surgeon, as well as the medical director of The Breathe Institute in California, where Kardashian is a patient. There's also a risk of scarring, which Zaghi says is the most common adverse outcome. Scar tissue can cause the tongue to contract and reduce tongue mobility.

Nonetheless, Zaghi advocates for a surgery that cuts through the frenulum and sometimes into the muscle. He calls the procedure a frenuloplasty, during which he cuts until the patient is able to lift their tongue so the tip is just behind the front teeth when their mouth is fully open, and the back of their tongue can reach the roof of the mouth. (Sheldon's laser surgery was a different approach, and there is no consensus or evidence to indicate if one technique is better.)

A tongue-tie, Zaghi asserts, can contribute to improper facial development in children, plus mouth breathing, sleep apnea, and more. However, Cristina Baldassari, an otolaryngologist and sleep medicine specialist at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, wrote in an email that there are no high quality research studies that demonstrate that tongue-tie causes any of these issues. The few studies that do exist have include small numbers of patients, or lack a control group.

Zaghi and others also promote myofunctional therapy, sometimes in conjunction with frenuloplasty, as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. But Baldassari says there isn't sufficient evidence to support myofunctional therapy as a sleep apnea treatment, either. The few small studies that have been done did not show that the therapy alone could decrease moderate to severe sleep apnea. Baldassari says she worries that real harm could come to sleep apnea patients with a severe disorder if they eschew conventional medical treatment for tongue therapy, because there are risks for medical complications like stroke and heart attack if the disease goes untreated.

Cutting the frenulum could even make sleep worse, Baldassari says. Slicing through the tether could cause the tongue to fall back into the throat, obstructing the airway during sleep. This concern was echoed by Karthik Balakrishnan, a professor and physician of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at Stanford University, though he pointed out there's no research on the subject to know for sure. And even Zaghi says some people are better off with an intact frenulum, including those who don't have enough space to accommodate their tongue high in their mouth, and those with low tongue muscle tone (though Zaghi cannot point to a method for providers to objectively assess these things, he says he's working on it).

Baldassari points out that researchers know the tongue is involved in sleep apnea devices that send electrical signals to the tongue, which cause it to move outward during inhalation during sleep, are effective at enlarging the airway. But, she says, if this tongue stimulation is strengthening the tongue, like myofunctional therapy proposes to do, it doesn't have a lasting effect; if doctors turn the device off after a year, patients still have sleep apnea.

Yet Baldassari doesn't mind if someone with mild sleep apnea or other conditions like neck tension, anxiety, bad posture, allergies, or teeth grinding, want to try myofunctional therapy, despite the lack of research, because she says there's little risk. Still, she added in an email, "it likely will be a waste of time and money."

* * *

In addition to the lack of strong evidence, both the tongue therapies and surgeries don't have strong professional standards. Neither has a standardized protocol, so the process varies from one practitioner to another. And while tongue-tie surgeries are performed by licensed doctors or dentists, myofunctional therapists have no system of licensure. Sarah Hornsby, a myofunctional therapist a sizable YouTube following and therapy co-director at The Breathe Institute, who offers a training program through the institute, acknowledges that this lack of standardization is one reason the medical community is skeptical of the therapy and says it is something therapists are working towards.

Though Zaghi has published a method for assessing tongue-ties, he argues that at least some standards for myofunctional therapy are unnecessary. For instance, he says that myofunctional therapy shouldn't all be based on one person's protocols he compared it to an exercise regimen, pointing out that there are benefits whether someone does yoga, pilates, weightlifting, or running.

Other experts disagree. If an exercise is used as a medical treatment, it needs to be researched that shows it's effective, says Kezirian. "Myofunctional therapy has nothing like this," he wrote in an email. (Kezirian holds a patent for a device to correct obstructive sleep apnea, as well as for head and neck exercises done with an apparatus to improve sleep disordered breathing, though he is not currently selling either product.) Not only do variations in practices make it difficult for researchers to evaluate whether it works, Baldassari wrote that "if there is a lack of standardization, there is no way to ensure that patients are getting adequate therapy."

Myofunctional therapy lacks standardized training programs, too. A myofunctional therapist is often a dental hygienist, as Hornsby was; other times, the therapist may be a dentist or speech language pathologist who has completed a short online training program. Most of these programs, which are not accredited by a professional organization, cost thousands of dollars. (Several organizations, including the International Association of Orofacial Myology, do offer certifications to those who complete their training.) Even tongue-tie revision surgery training for dentists can be done online, or through a two-day course with two hours of hands-on instruction, and Zaghi teaches his frenuloplasty method online since the pandemic began.

Despite the lack of training and standards, myofunctional therapists stand to earn more than they did as dental hygienists, with fees ranging from $80 to $250 per session; those who are also dentists or speech therapists can charge more. And dentists who revise adult tongue-ties can charge up to about $1,500 for the procedure. "I do not want to suggest ulterior motives," Kezirian wrote in an email, "but of course treatment is offered to patients that pay for services, often on their own because these treatments are not covered by medical insurance."

Sheldon has also noticed these financial incentives. She avoids the adult tongue-tie Facebook group these days because she says practitioners are also members, and stand to profit from the groups' messages. And when someone has an issue after a tongue-tie surgery, members tend to doubt whether that person did enough myofunctional therapy or found the right provider, instead of questioning the procedure itself.

Sheldon says she has struggled to forgive herself for agreeing to do something that brought her chronic pain and health problems. But one thing brings her peace: Because of her experience, she sought a second opinion when an orthodontist suggested that her son needed tongue-tie surgery in order for his teeth to be straightened. What happened to her, she says, saved her son from the possibility of a similar fate. Now, she adds, "I don't believe that we're supposed to be cutting people's frenulums."

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Christina Szalinski is a freelance science writer with a Ph.D. in cell biology based near Philadelphia.

This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.

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Short on evidence, dubious therapies turn to the tongue - Salon