Sun Eun Jung1,2, Mi Ah Han3, Jong Park3, Seong Woo Choi3

1Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Health Science, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea 2Department of rehabilitation, Chosun University Honam Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, Gwangju, Korea 3Department of Preventive Medicine, Chosun University College of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea


Background: Dysphagia is a common complication in stroke patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the tongue-holding maneuver over an 8-week period on the swallowing function in stroke patients.
Methods: Twenty-eight stroke patients with dysphagia diagnosed within 1 year were randomly allocated to the experimental or control groups. The experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=13) performed the tongue-holding and Mendelsohn maneuver, respectively. And both groups additionally participated in traditional dysphagia therapy. The maneuvers were conducted for thirty minutes a day, five days a week, for six weeks, totaling forty sessions. Swallowing function with the functional dysphagia scale and swallowing pain with the visual analogue scale between the 2 groups were tested by chi-square tests, Mann-whitney testes, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests.
Results: The general characteristics, including age, sex, and disease history, between the two groups did not differ. After 8 weeks of intervention, swallowing function at the oral phase and the pharyngeal phase and the total score was significantly improved in both experimental and control groups. Also, swallowing pain decreased significantly in both groups. However, the change to swallowing function and pain between the groups were not different.
Conclusions: The tongue-holding maneuver practiced over an eight-week period improved the swallowing function in stroke patients.
Korean J Health Promot 2015;15(2):83-90

Keywords: Deglutition disorders, Occupational therapy, Pain, Stroke