Department of Occupational Therapy, Cheongju University, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
Exp Gerontol. 2018 Sep;110:133-138. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jun 9.
Aging causes motor function deterioration in the elderly population, which in turn can cause weakness in the muscles associated with swallowing. Swallowing-related problems in elderly individuals can be prevented or their symptoms can be improved with strengthening exercises for the muscles involved in swallowing. The existing strengthening exercises for the suprahyoid muscle have their limitations. Therefore, it is necessary to find another exercise that can be performed by individuals whose personal characteristics make it difficult for them to perform the existing exercises. In this study, we investigated the changes in suprahyoid muscle activation, tongue strength, and thickness of the suprahyoid muscle after 8 weeks of the head extension swallowing exercise (HESE). A total of 23 healthy elderly individuals participated in an 8-week exercise program (20 min/session, 2 times/week for 8 weeks). Suprahyoid muscle activation during effortful swallowing and the effortful-normal ratio were significantly increased at 8 weeks compared to the baseline values (p = 0.002, and 0.033, respectively). Tongue tip pressure, tongue base pressure, normal swallowing pressure, effortful swallowing pressure, and tongue tip endurance were significantly increased at 8 weeks compared with baseline (p = 0.014, 0.004, 0.046, 0.009, and 0.004, respectively). The thickness of the digastric muscle and that of the mylohyoid muscle were significantly increased at 8 weeks compared with baseline (p = 0.000 and 0.004, respectively). This study showed that HESE can be a good option for improving the suprahyoid muscle and tongue strength in the elderly population. Additionally, this exercise does not require any additional equipment and has the advantage of being able to be performed anytime and anywhere. A variety of exercise options tailored according to individual characteristics may be helpful in choosing the most appropriate exercise.
衰老会导致老年人群体运动功能恶化，进而导致与吞咽相关的肌肉无力。通过对与吞咽相关的肌肉进行强化锻炼，可以预防老年人出现吞咽相关问题，或改善其相关症状。现有的颏舌骨肌强化锻炼存在一定的局限性。因此，有必要寻找另一种锻炼方法，让那些由于个人特征而难以进行现有锻炼的人也能进行。在这项研究中，我们调查了头伸展吞咽练习（head extension swallowing exercise，HESE） 8 周后颏舌骨肌激活、舌力和颏舌骨肌厚度的变化。共有 23 名健康的老年人参与了为期 8 周的锻炼计划（20 分钟/节，每周 2 次，共 8 周）。与基线值相比，在 8 周时，努力吞咽时颏舌骨肌的激活和努力-正常比值显著增加（p=0.002 和 0.033）。与基线相比，在 8 周时，舌尖压力、舌底压力、正常吞咽压力、努力吞咽压力和舌尖耐力均显著增加（p=0.014、0.004、0.046、0.009 和 0.004）。与基线相比，二腹肌和下颌舌骨肌的厚度在 8 周时均显著增加（p=0.000 和 0.004）。本研究表明，HESE 可能是改善老年人群颏舌骨肌和舌力的一个很好的选择。此外，这种锻炼不需要任何额外的设备，而且具有随时随地都可以进行的优势。根据个体特征量身定制的各种锻炼选择可能有助于选择最合适的锻炼方法。
