About six months ago, I had tongue tie surgery — a quick procedure I hoped would help my airway issues, jaw tension, and sleep. The full effects, even just weeks in, have been staggering. My upper neck, jaw, and shoulder tension have been reduced by about 80%. And these weren’t new issues — they’ve been with me for decades.

Honestly, the difference has been so profound I feel like I stepped into another body. That, combined with the number of questions I received on Instagram, made it clear I needed to share a full blog post — my story, what a tongue tie actually is, how it can affect adults, and why it ties back (literally and figuratively) to endometriosis and pelvic floor health.

What Is a Tongue Tie?

A tongue tie, or ankyloglossia, if you like a tongue-twister with your tongue-tie, is when the lingual frenulum (the strip of tissue under your tongue) is too short or tight, restricting tongue movement.

Tongue tie release after surgery — You can see just how much room I was able to gain from the tongue tie release surgery

We all have a frenulum. The issue is when it’s too restrictive and starts affecting things like sleep, posture, or even frozen shoulder, pelvic pain, or core dysfunction!

Most people hear about this condition in infants, especially when it interferes with breastfeeding. Many parents, often with the help of a lactation consultant, choose to release their baby’s tongue tie so the child can nurse effectively. But after those baby years? Tongue ties fall out of the conversation.

That doesn’t mean they’re gone. While up to 10% of babies may have a tongue tie, research suggests only 2% of older children and adults still meet the criteria【1】. That shows some ties naturally stretch or resolve with growth, eating, speaking, or speech therapy.

But for some of us, they persist — and can quietly cause a cascade of health problems.

How Can a Tongue Tie Affect Adults?

It sounds almost silly that a flap of tissue under the tongue could throw off your whole body. But because the muscles of the tongue are connected through fascia to the core muscles, pelvic floor, and even the spine, a restriction here can ripple outward.

Here are a few key ways tongue ties can drive chronic symptoms in adulthood (and why it matters if you have endometriosis):

1. Terrible Sleep Quality

If your tongue is glued to the floor of your mouth, it can’t rest on the roof where it belongs. This may sound bizarre, but correct posture for the tongue is on the palate — supporting airway space, nasal breathing, and even the shape of the jaw.

When the tongue can’t stay up, you’re likely a mouth breather. That often means snoring, sleep apnea, anxiety, exhaustion, and poor quality sleep — even if you’re in bed 10 hours.

For those of us with chronic illness, this matters deeply. Sleep is when your system restores balance, lowers inflammation, and repairs. Even one night of poor sleep spikes inflammatory markers. Add years of disrupted breathing patterns, and you have a recipe for fatigue, hormone imbalance, and worsening pain.

And yes — sometimes the culprit is simply a tethered tongue.

2. Brain Fog

Your tongue is like a natural retainer. It helps shape the upper jaw, which houses your sinuses and upper airways. If your tongue rests low in the mouth, the jaw and airway may narrow, limiting nasal breathing.

If you’re not nasal breathing all. the. time., you’re mouth breathing. And mouth breathing doesn’t just dry out your throat — it changes how your brain works.

Clavicle stuck in a V-formation? Look how mine are reaching for the sky! That means your shoulders are pulled up. Not great if they’re stuck here…

A 2021 MRI study found mouth breathing adversely affects brain activity, leading to poor activation at rest and during intellectual tasks【2】. Translation: brain fog.

3. Chronic Shoulder Tension, Headaches, TMJ

If you’ve tried every treatment for chronic tension with no relief, your lingual frenulum could be the hidden driver.

That’s because the frenulum connects into a fascial line that runs from the tongue through the neck, chest, and abdomen, down to the pelvic floor. Pull the fascia tight under the jaw, and the whole front of the body compensates: head juts forward, shoulders curl, pelvis tucks.

The result? Chronic jaw clenching, TMJ, headaches, frozen shoulder, and even core dysfunction. I had all of these — and decades of bodywork couldn’t solve them because the restriction was upstream.

You can see how my clavicle was stuck in a V-shape rather than relaxed across and down, horizontal to the ground, demonstrating JUST how tense and “up” my shoulders were all the time.

4. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Core Muscles

Here’s where it gets interesting. Remember that the pelvic floor shares fascial connections with the tongue. If your jaw is clenched, your pelvic floor is probably tight too.

Mouth breathing adds another problem. Without diaphragmatic breathing patterns, your core function suffers. Instead of the diaphragm, deep abdominal muscles, and pelvic floor working together like a team, the system collapses. That means instability, pelvic pain, and core dysfunction.

Personal story: right before my release, my bodyworker asked me to relax my jaw. I couldn’t. Then he said, “Relax your anus” (yes, I laughed, the word anus is funny in casual conversation!). But the moment I softened my pelvic floor, my jaw unlocked. Proof of the connection.

If you have chronic pelvic floor dysfunction, stubborn jaw clenching, or core dysfunction that won’t resolve--AND you have a tongue tie--your tongue tie could be part of the picture.

My Tongue Tie Surgery Story

I’m 40 and have lived with jaw, neck, and shoulder tension for decades. It was visible in photos — my posture pulled upward, tight, hunched.

Four years ago I started exploring airway health after reading Breath by James Nestor. I realized:

I was a nighttime mouth breather meaning my sleep was poor.
My airways were narrow (thanks to a tongue glued to the floor of my mouth, not the ceiling)
I had chronic (would NOT go away) shoulder tension , jaw tension, and (without realizing the extent of it) core and pelvic floor dysfunction. dysfunction
And I had a tongue tie.

I didn’t rush—namely because I didn’t realize just how beneficial the release would be. Instead I researched. I learned not all ties need surgery — some people regain function with speech therapy or myofunctional exercises.

But if you do need a release, as I did, preparation is everything!

So I strengthened my core muscles, retrained my tongue, worked with tools, and addressed my bite with Invisalign. Only then did I move forward with the procedure.

Why do these things? Because if you have been living with a tightened frenulum for your whole life, you are going to need a foundation to "land on" when it's cut. If you're tongue isn't strong enough to "glue to the ceiling", it won't be strong enough after the tie is cut and it can heal right back to it's tight self! So give yourself time to prepare: tongue, core, and pelvic floor, as much as you can.

The Procedure

Day before: I had craniosacral and rolfing bodywork to free up my fascia.
Day of: my dentist numbed my tongue (local anesthesia) and used a laser to cut the frenulum. The whole procedure took one minute. A little bleeding, mild discomfort, but nothing unmanageable.
Days after: soreness, but not terrible. Within 48 hours I had more tongue mobility than ever. The stretching hurt... but I reminded myself I'm a grown a** adult and made myself do it ;) I was also exhausted, like a deep, deep fatigue. This, I believe, was my nervous system resetting after such a huge change.

The After-Procedure, super-important- information few tell you

Getting a tongie tie release is a super tiny procedure with BIG consequences for those of us who have been bound up for decades. Here is what I want you to know if you do this

1) Know you may feel exhausted for a week or two: I watched a YouTube video of a woman who had a release, and she was crying because she was exhausted for a few weeks after. Like debilitating chronic fatigue, kind of tired. That helped me prepare … maybe I would feel the same? And I did! After the initial excitement at my newfound mobility, I plummeted into a sleepy, slow, heavy state. The only thing I can think of, since it’s a small procedure, is that there is such a monumental internal shift that the entire nervous and muscular system has to reboot. So be kind to yourself if you feel the same, and make sure your procedure isn’t at a stressful time in life.

2) Get body work done afterwards, or risk little to no improvement: Brian is my amazing fascia guru, whom I met through this process, and he recommended that my bundled up body could use a Rolfing 10-session to re-align and lengthen what was stuck. I really didn’t want to spend the extra money. But after the first 2 weeks post-op, I noticed I was going from feeling like Gumby with all my new mobility to starting to feel like a stiff-old-stick. My body was trying to protect itself in any way it could, and without the extra length where I needed it, I was tightening back up. I felt it clearly.

So I committed. And Brian, bless his amazing heart, changed my body from the inside out. He worked diligently with me on my core, my upper body, my psoas (that was very shortened from a lifetime of contraction, although, now, it could finally release!). He unwound my body with me and, truly, gave me the gift of freedom in movement. I can run again! My upper body move independantly rather than all bunched together. My hips are free, my pelvic floor lengthened.

So if you have all these same issues I did (pelvic floor, core, and shoulder issues) I would ask you to consider bodywork after your release to help the body fully readjust to the new paradigm. I know if I hadn’t, I might have only had like 10% of the benefit I experienced.

Also, if you want to work with Brian, the guru of gurus, he’s available on the North Shore of Kauai www.divinealignmentbodywork.com.

Months Later

shoulder tension after tongue tie surgery

Thanks to both the release and the Rolfing session body work (not just the release alone!), the results have been life-changing:

My core function improved — my deep abdominal muscles finally activated. I can now say with all honesty that, even with all my talk of core function, I had NEVER been able to truly activate the deep core. It was so bound up with the tie. Thanks to Brian and the release I am a new person.
My pelvic floor dysfunction eased as tension released. Like a breath of fresh air! I felt like I finally understood what true core integration feels like.
My posture straightened and I no longer feel like I need to jut my ribs forward in order to hold my head up.
My energy skyrocketed — likely from better breathing and deeper sleep along with less body tension all day.
My shoulders dropped.
Face tension, I didn't realize I had, relaxed.

Here are some before and afters:

What to Do If You Suspect a Tongue Tie

Maybe you have one, maybe you don't. First investigate!

Do a home check. Try lifting your tongue to your palate while opening your jaw. Try holding it there. If you can’t, you may have a restriction.
If you think you have one get a physical exam by an expert. Seriously, most dentists (love you!) have no clue if a tongue tie is a problem. Mine was pretty darned bad yet no regular dentist had tuned in. It was only when I saw a series of airway-aware dentists that (all three) mentioned my tied-up tongue. An oral myofunctional therapist is another great way to check in. They’ll tell you if your tongue tie is contributing to your symptoms.
Don’t just cut it. Rushing into surgical procedures without preparation can cause complications. Strengthen your muscles, retrain breathing patterns, and work with a therapist first.

Final Thoughts

For me, tongue tie surgery was an effective treatment that changed everything — from tension and pain to sleep, posture, and even my pelvic floor.

If you’re struggling with stubborn core dysfunction, chronic tension, or pelvic floor dysfunction, don’t overlook this small detail. Sometimes the root cause of big problems lies in the tiniest tether under the tongue.