Effect of posture on swallowing. 2017

Ahmad H Alghadir, and Hamayun Zafar, and Einas S Al-Eisa, and Zaheen A Iqbal
Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA.

BACKGROUND Swallowing is a systematic process. Any structural, physiological or neurological disturbance in this process may cause dysphagia. Although there are studies that report head/neck movements during mastication, there are fewer studies that show the effect of different head/neck postures on difficulty while swallowing. OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of different body postures on the self-perceived difficulty while swallowing in normal healthy subjects. METHODS Participants were asked to swallow 25 ml of water in one go while sitting upright, sitting with head/neck flexed, head/neck extended and lying supine. Following this, they had to rate their self-perceived difficulty while swallowing on a scale of 0-10, 0 being most easy and 10 being most difficult. RESULTS 186 subjects with mean age 32.7 SD 9.04 participated in this study. It was found to be least difficult to swallow when subjects were asked to swallow in upright sitting position. Statistically significant differences were found between sitting upright, sitting with head/neck flexed, head/neck extended and lying supine. CONCLUSIONS Postural modification may help in rehabilitation of patients with dysphagia by affecting bolus flow to improve speed and safety of swallowing by closure of airways to prevent aspiration.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D009333 Neck The part of a human or animal body connecting the HEAD to the rest of the body. Necks
D009334 Neck Muscles The neck muscles consist of the platysma, splenius cervicis, sternocleidomastoid(eus), longus colli, the anterior, medius, and posterior scalenes, digastric(us), stylohyoid(eus), mylohyoid(eus), geniohyoid(eus), sternohyoid(eus), omohyoid(eus), sternothyroid(eus), and thyrohyoid(eus). Muscle, Neck,Muscles, Neck,Neck Muscle
D011187 Posture The position or physical attitude of the body. Postures
D003679 Deglutition The act of taking solids and liquids into the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT through the mouth and throat. Swallowing,Deglutitions,Swallowings
D005260 Female Females
D006257 Head The upper part of the human body, or the front or upper part of the body of an animal, typically separated from the rest of the body by a neck, and containing the brain, mouth, and sense organs. Heads
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D055815 Young Adult A person between 19 and 24 years of age. Adult, Young,Adults, Young,Young Adults

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