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Protrusion Strength Training of the Tongue in Adult Humans
Author(s) -
Davenport Paul Wesley,
Berry Richard B,
Vann William J,
Kizza Rosie,
Purdy Susan,
Ryals Scott
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.844.7
Subject(s) - tongue , medicine , placebo , isometric exercise , orthodontics , physical therapy , pathology , alternative medicine
Upper airway patency is regulated by the integrated function multiple muscle system. Of particular importance is the position, strength and tone of the tongue. Tongue protrusion moves the tongue anterior in the mouth and expands the pharyngeal passage. Reduced tongue protrusion strength and tone may affect swallow and breathing. We hypothesized that the tongue can be strengthened to increase protrusion force. A placebo controlled study was performed in adult volunteers. A unique spring‐loaded device was constructed to provide protrusion strength training. The pre‐treatment maximum tongue protrusion force (MTPF) was measured and subjects randomly assigned to placebo or trained groups. The subjects were provided the device with low spring constant (placebo) or high spring constant (trained). The subjects performed a once‐daily tongue protrusion exercise by placing the device in their mouth, holding the device in place with their teeth, pushing the tongue onto a spring‐loaded piston and forcing the piston 0.5–1.0 cm into the device cylinder. The subjects performed 25–35 protrusion efforts per training session, 1 training session per day, 5 days per week for 8 weeks. Post‐treatment MTPF was recorded at the completion of the 8‐week exercise protocol. The trained group exercised with the device set to 70–80% MTPF. The placebo device was approximately 15% MTPF. The MTPF significantly increased in both the placebo and trained groups. The MTPF was significantly greater (38%) for the trained group compared to the placebo group (17%). The results of this study demonstrated that tongue protrusion strength can be increased by protrusion specific exercises using a spring‐loaded device. The placebo group had a significant training effect suggesting low intensity tongue protrusion exercise will increase MTPF. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .