Deviation of the tongue is its deviation to the right or left of the midline. If a he althy person is asked to stick out his tongue, he will easily do it, and it will be located exactly in the middle of the oral cavity. If the hypoglossal nerve somehow does not work correctly, then it will be possible to observe the deviation of the organ of speech.
It is disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system that lead to problems in the muscles of the tongue, and sometimes the face. Most often, such changes occur due to diseases of the brain, for example, due to a stroke.
What is a stroke?
Stroke is a violation of the blood circulation of the brain, associated with neurological symptoms that do not go away for several months. This is a very serious disease, in which a quarter of cases are fatal. The same proportion of patients become first-degree disabled. And some people who have had a stroke gradually return to normal life. However, this takes a lot of time, because in mostcases, patients need to re-learn how to move and speak. Often patients are bedridden and unable to care for themselves.
Deviation of the tongue during a stroke is just one of the symptoms that can occur. As a rule, a cerebral hemorrhage greatly affects the neurotic state of the patient, and in addition to deviation of the speech organ, atrophy of the facial muscles, the inability to move the limbs on one side, sometimes complete paralysis of the body or its individual parts, may occur. Language deviation in stroke leads to a serious speech disorder. Is it possible to fully rehabilitate, get rid of the disease and how to do it?
What could be the causes of language deviation?
Why does the tongue deviate to the left? The reasons for this are rooted in neuroscience. Deviation can occur due to improper operation of the hypoglossal nerve. In this case, the muscles of the speech organ on the left side become significantly weaker than on the right. Therefore, when the tongue is pushed out of the oral cavity, it shifts to the weaker side. Similarly, the deviation of the tongue to the right occurs.
Also, deviation may appear due to the unevenness of the face, when the facial muscles on one side are much stronger. In such cases, when protruding the tongue, it will also move to one side. In some cases, this happens completely imperceptibly, and sometimes the pathology is visible very well. However, the tongue itself functions normally, and its muscles on both sides have the same strength.
Diagnosis of tongue deviation
Diagnosing the presence of tongue deviation is not always easy. But in most cases, it is enough for the patient to simply stick it out. Seeing the deviation, the doctor can conclude which side of the muscle is weaker. For example, if there is a deviation of the tongue to the right, the reasons lie in the fact that this area of \u200b\u200bthe face is less strong.
However, deviation is not always associated with brain diseases. Sometimes such deviations can be explained by insufficient development of facial muscles on the one hand.
To determine what exactly the doctor is dealing with, the patient is usually asked to make a quick movement of the tongue in both directions. In this case, it will be seen with what force these manipulations are performed.
If such measures do not help, then the patient should be asked to press the tongue on both cheeks from the inside in turn. For example, a specialist diagnoses the right side. He tests the force of pressure with the help of a hand on the outside of the right cheek, trying to counteract the force of the tongue. In this case, the specialist will be able to assess how his muscles work and understand if there is a deviation of the tongue to the right.
Treatment of tongue deviation
It should be noted that deviation is not an independent disease, it is only a symptom that manifests itself as a result of other diseases. Therefore, getting rid of such a manifestation entirely depends on the treatment of the disease that caused it. If the cause is a stroke, which happens most often, it is necessary to eliminate violationsblood supply to the brain. As soon as this problem is eliminated, the nerves will return to normal, and, consequently, the symptoms associated with neurology will also disappear. If the matter is in the mimic muscles of the face, then it is necessary to consult a doctor and use special exercises to develop muscles that lag behind the other side.
Child tongue deviation
A stroke or a curvature of the muscles of the face is an unprecedented phenomenon for a child, but children also experience language deviation. As a rule, the cause of such a symptom is dysarthria or erased dysarthria.
This disease is caused by a violation of the signal from the brain to the muscles of the articulatory apparatus. In this case, the wrong nerve signal can be reflected both in the muscles of the child's face and in the tongue.
Not many children face this phenomenon. However, cases were still recorded. Most of those suffering from such disorders outwardly look like completely he althy children, and only a doctor is able to determine that a child has dysarthria.
Symptoms of dysarthria in a child
When the transmission of the nerve signal is disturbed, the child's face becomes inactive and does not express any emotions with the help of facial expressions. The patient's lips are often pursed, the corners are lowered down, the child has such an expression almost constantly.
In severe cases, due to the disease, the child cannot close his mouth and keep his tongue in the mouth. Also, with dysarthria in a patient, oftenlanguage deviation is observed. If you ask the baby to stick out the organ of speech, then it will be possible to notice that it is difficult for the child to keep it on the midline. Tongue shakes slightly and leans to the side.
The difference between dysarthria and erased dysarthria
As a rule, with dysarthria, there is a pronounced inactivity of the face, which is very easy to notice on the face of a child. Other signs can also be noted, such as impaired coordination in hand movements and disorientation in space. In general, children with dysarthria do not enjoy painting, clay modeling, or any other activity that requires the use of fine motor skills.
However, more and more often there are children who do an excellent job with any kind of activity, love to draw and be creative. At the same time, they have mobile facial expressions, they smile a lot, laugh and are no different from an ordinary he althy child. The only thing that betrays the presence of dysarthria is the deviation of the tongue. As a rule, in children suffering from this disease, the tongue is quite thick. If you ask a child to stick it out of his mouth, you may notice that the tongue shakes and deviates to the side. The manifestation of such symptoms in medicine is called erased dysarthria.
Both diseases are united by slurred speech. The child may lisp, swallow some sounds. At the same time, it is quite difficult to understand what the child is saying. Speech is extremely slurred and inarticulate.
How does dysarthria affect the psychebaby?
Basically, all children suffering from erased or severe dysarthria have an unstable psyche. They are characterized by frequent mood swings, throwing from one extreme to another. The child may be, on the one hand, overly vulnerable, constantly crying over trifles, on the other hand, it may become aggressive, be rude to adults, and conflict with peers. Such children are rarely good students, as a rule, they are inattentive and do not delve into the essence of learning.
How to get rid of tongue deviation in a child?
In order to get rid of language deviation in a child, complex treatment is necessary. Many parents believe that with erased dysarthria, it will be enough just to go to a speech therapist, who will help the child pronounce the words correctly. However, the diagnosis in this case is made by a neurologist and he must also prescribe treatment. As a rule, the child is prescribed not only classes with a speech therapist and training in the correct pronunciation of sounds, but also a course of massage of the neck, collar zone and chin. Also often used in therapy are facial massage with hands and probe massage of the tongue. In this case, it is simply impossible to achieve a result with the help of any medications; regular exposure to the source of the nerve impulse is necessary.
Treatment of tongue deviation in both adults and children primarily consists in treating the disease that caused the tongue to deviate from the midline. It is impossible to get rid of this problem without comprehensive measures. Often, doctors recommend combining therapy aimed at the disease itself, as well assymptomatic treatment, which mainly includes massages and exercise. These measures will allow you to return the tongue and facial muscles to normal as soon as possible. It is necessary to pay special attention to language deviation in a child, since it is often possible to determine the presence of a disease only on this basis.
The main thing is timely treatment, otherwise complications may develop. The most common are slurred speech development, difficulty in pronouncing words, inability to say any words (loss of speech).
