Effect of chin tuck against resistance exercise on patients with dysphagia following stroke: A randomized pilot study.

BACKGROUND

Recently, chin tuck against resistance exercise (CTAR) has been reported as a remedial treatment for pharyngeal dysphagia. However, the clinical evidence of the effect is still lacking.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effect of CTAR on the swallowing function in patients with dysphagia following subacute stroke.

METHODS

The patients were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 11) or a control group (n = 11). The experimental group performed CTAR using the CTAR device. The control group received only conventional dysphagia treatment. Both groups received training on five days a week, for four weeks. The swallowing function was measured using functional dysphagia scale (FDS) and penetration-aspiration scale (PAS), based on a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS).

RESULTS

The experimental group showed more improvements in the oral cavity, laryngeal elevation/epiglottic closure, residue in valleculae, and residue in pyriform sinuses of FDS and PAS compared to the control group (p < 0.05, all).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that CTAR is effective in improving the pharyngeal swallowing function in patients with dysphagia after stroke. Therefore, we recommend CTAR as a new remedial training alternative to HLE.