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A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Physical and Mental Lingual Exercise for Healthy Older Adults

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Abstract

Mental practice using motor imagery (MP-MI) has been shown to improve motor outcomes of upper and lower extremities especially when combined with physical exercise. Here, we studied community-dwelling, healthy older adults to determine the effects of including an MP-MI component with lingual strengthening exercise. In this pilot study, twenty-nine typically aging participants were assigned to an intervention group: physical lingual exercise (n = 7), physical and MP-MI lingual exercise (n = 8), MPMI lingual exercise (n = 7), or a control group (placebo exercise) (n = 7). All participants completed the assigned exercise regimen with three sessions per day, three days a week, for 6 consecutive weeks. Maximum isometric pressure (MIP) and regular effort saliva swallowing (RESS) pressure were collected at baseline and weeks 2, 4, and 6. A post hoc Bonferroni corrected treatment effect from baseline to week 6 was shown for only participants in the MP-MI/Physical exercise group for MIP (p = 0.003 MPMI/ Physical group; p = 0.11 Control group; p = 0.32 Physical only group; p = 0.14 MP-MI only group) and RESS (p = 0.009 MP-MI/Physical group; p = 0.14 Control group; p = 0.10 Physical only group; p = 0.04 MP-MI only group). Findings also indicate spontaneous carryover of significantly increased swallowing pressure when mental and physical exercise are combined. In conclusion, the potential effect of including an MPMI lingual exercise component in preventative and rehabilitative frameworks with older persons to possibly enhance functional swallowing improvement is promising and should be investigated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science and Mathematics, Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manate, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL, 34243, USA

    Sarah H. Szynkiewicz

  2. School of Health Professions, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Samford University, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL, 35229, USA

    Sarah H. Szynkiewicz

  3. College of Health and Behavioral Studies, Communication Sciences and Disorders, James Madison University, MSC 4304, 235 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Harrisonburg, VA, 22807, USA

    Erin Kamarunas, Lindsay Griffin & Cynthia R. O’Donoghue

  4. School of Communications, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emerson College, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02116, USA

    Lindsay Griffin

  5. Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Davies School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 297450, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, USA

    Teresa Drulia

  6. School of Allied Health Professions, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA

    Christina V. Nobriga

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  1. Sarah H. Szynkiewicz
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Correspondence to Sarah H. Szynkiewicz.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Individual universities supported participant incentives in the form of gift cards through internal funding mechanisms. The authors acknowledge Dr. Garret LaForge (University of South Florida – Sarasota, Manatee) for his expertise and guidance in statistical consultation, as well as Morgann Henn (James Madison University) and Laurel Lynch (Texas Christian University) for their help with our study.

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Szynkiewicz, S.H., Kamarunas, E., Drulia, T. et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Physical and Mental Lingual Exercise for Healthy Older Adults. Dysphagia 36, 474–482 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10164-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10164-5

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