ABSTRACT

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of action observation training on theswallowing function of stroke patients with dysphagia. Methods : Sixteen stroke patients with dysphagia were randomly allocated into an Action Observation (AO) groupor Control (CTL) group. The AO group had watched a movie clip containing a normal person eating a meal, andimitated the movements of this person for five minutes. In contrast, the CTL group observed a video with onlyscenery for an equal period of time. Each group was offered the same therapeutic program with the exception ofthe video intervention. The Functional Dysphagia Scale (FDS), Clinical Dysphagia Scale (CDS), and Oral TransitTime (OTT) based on a Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS) were performed to verify the effect of theintervention. Results : The results of FDS, CDS, and OTT were significantly improved for puree, solid, and liquid types of dietafter intervention in the two groups (p<.05). However, the AO group showed a significant improvement in theswallowing function for all types of diets measured by the FDS, as compared with the CTL group (p<.05). Conclusion : These results show that action observation training is effective for an improvement in the swallowingfunction of stroke patients with dysphagia.