Department of Oral Health and Clinical Science Division of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Tokyo Dental College, Tokyo, Japan.
Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2017 Dec;17(12):2565-2572. doi: 10.1111/ggi.13097. Epub 2017 Jun 28.
The present study examined the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines, and shoulder girdle range of motion (ROM) of dependent older adults to clarify the influence of these variables on swallowing function, in order to evaluate the efficiency of ROM training to maintain older adults' swallowing function.
A total of 37 (mean age 86.8 ± 6.2 years; 11 men; 26 women) dependent older adults were included in the study. The level of swallowing function was assessed using the Functional Oral Intake Scale. The following ROM were measured three times to calculate the mean: the cervical spine (flexion, extension, rotation and lateral bending); thoracic and lumbar spines (flexion, extension, rotation and lateral bending); and shoulder girdle (flexion, extension, elevation and depression). In order to compare ROM, the participants showing Functional Oral Intake Scale scores of 7 were classified as dysphagia (-), and those showing scores <7 were included in the dysphagia (+) subgroups.
The dysphagia (+) group showed significantly limited cervical spine (flexion, extension and lateral bending), thoracic and lumbar spines (flexion, extension, rotation and lateral bending), and shoulder girdle (flexion, elevation, and depression) ROM.
Although strict relationships were not clarified, the results of the present study suggested the influence of some joint ROM on swallowing function. This suggests the feasibility of preventing dysphagia among dependent older adults by maintaining and enhancing the elasticity and extensibility of their muscles through cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines, and shoulder girdle ROM training. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2565-2572.
本研究检查了依赖老年人的颈椎、胸椎和腰椎以及肩部的活动范围（ROM），以阐明这些变量对吞咽功能的影响，从而评估 ROM 训练对维持老年人吞咽功能的效率。
共纳入 37 名（平均年龄 86.8±6.2 岁；11 名男性；26 名女性）依赖老年人。使用功能性口腔摄入量表评估吞咽功能水平。三次测量以下 ROM 以计算平均值：颈椎（屈伸、旋转和侧屈）；胸椎和腰椎（屈伸、旋转和侧屈）；肩部（屈伸、抬高和降低）。为了比较 ROM，将功能性口腔摄入量表评分 7 的参与者分为吞咽困难（-）组，评分 <7 的参与者包括在吞咽困难（+）亚组中。
吞咽困难（+）组的颈椎（屈伸和侧屈）、胸椎和腰椎（屈伸、旋转和侧屈）以及肩部（屈伸、抬高和降低）ROM 明显受限。
尽管没有明确严格的关系，但本研究结果表明一些关节 ROM 对吞咽功能有影响。这表明通过颈椎、胸椎和腰椎以及肩部 ROM 训练来维持和增强老年人肌肉的弹性和伸展性，从而预防依赖老年人发生吞咽困难是可行的。老年医学与老年病学国际 2017；17：2565-2572。
