Department of Occupational Therapy, Dongseo University, Busan, Korea.
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Reiwa Health Sciences University, Fukuoka, Japan.
J Oral Rehabil. 2024 Nov;51(11):2270-2277. doi: 10.1111/joor.13818. Epub 2024 Jul 29.
Tongue-strengthening exercises may be used at home to strengthen swallowing-related oropharyngeal muscles in community-dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia; however, evidence of their effectiveness remains unclear.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of a home-based tongue-strengthening exercise (hTSE) using portable tool on swallowing-related oropharyngeal muscles in community-dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia.
Forth community-dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia were enrolled in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. 1-Repetition Maximum (1-RM) of tongue muscle was measured in the experimental group using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument, and hTSE was performed using a portable tool with an intensity corresponding to approximately 70%-80% of the range based on the 1-RM value (90 times/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks). The control group did not perform any tongue exercises. The primary outcome measures were tongue strength and thickness. The secondary outcome measure was suprahyoid muscle strength (digastric and mylohyoid muscles).
The experimental group showed significantly greater increases in suprahyoid muscle (mylohyoid and digastric) thickness (p = .01 and .011, d = 1.0 and .55), as well as tongue strength and thickness (p < .001 and .029, d = 2.2 and .6) than the control group.
This study confirmed that hTSE using a portable tool is effective in increasing swallowing-related oropharyngeal muscle activity in older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia. Therefore, hTSE is recommended as an inexpensive, safe, and easy-to-use therapy for sarcopenic dysphagia in older adults.
在家进行舌强化练习可能有助于增强社区居住的伴有肌肉减少性吞咽困难的老年人与吞咽相关的口咽肌肉力量；然而，其有效性的证据仍不明确。
本研究旨在探究使用便携式工具的家庭舌强化练习（hTSE）对伴有肌肉减少性吞咽困难的社区居住的老年人与吞咽相关的口咽肌肉力量的影响。
本研究纳入了 40 名伴有肌肉减少性吞咽困难的社区居住的老年人。将参与者随机分配到实验组和对照组。实验组使用爱荷华口腔表现仪器测量舌肌 1 重复最大值（1-RM），并使用便携式工具进行 hTSE，强度对应于 1-RM 值的约 70%-80%（每天 90 次，每周 5 天，持续 8 周）。对照组不进行任何舌运动。主要结局指标为舌力量和厚度。次要结局指标为颏舌骨肌力量（二腹肌和颏舌肌）。
实验组颏舌骨肌（颏舌肌和二腹肌）厚度（p=0.01 和 0.011，d=1.0 和 0.55）以及舌力量和厚度（p<0.001 和 0.029，d=2.2 和 0.6）的增加明显大于对照组。
本研究证实，使用便携式工具的 hTSE 可有效增加伴有肌肉减少性吞咽困难的老年人与吞咽相关的口咽肌肉活动。因此，建议将 hTSE 作为一种经济、安全且易于使用的治疗老年人肌肉减少性吞咽困难的方法。
