ABSTRACT

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a resistive chin tuck exercise on the swallowing function in stroke patients with dysphagia. Methods : Fifty-eight patients were randomly assigned to either a resistive chin tuck exercise group or a Shaker exercise group. The experimental group performed the resistive chin tuck exercise, and the control group performed a Shaker exercise, each for 15 minutes a session, twice a day, five times per week, over a six -week period. Results : Both groups showed a significant improvement in their total and pharyngeal stage Videofluoroscopic Dysphasia Scale (VDS), Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS), and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) scores(p <.05). However, through a comparison of the variations of the total scores for VDS and PAS before and after intervention, there were significant differences between the two groups (p=.04, p=.00). Conclusion : The findings confirmed that the resistive chin tuck exercise conducted in this study has a similar effect as a head-lift exercise used as one of the remedial methods in conventional swallowing treatment.