The effect of respiratory muscle training on the swallowing function of dysphasic stroke survivors / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effect of respiratory training on post-stroke dysphagia.Methods Forty-two stroke survivors with dysphagia were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group,each of 21.Both groups were given routine swallowing training,while the observation group was additionally provided with respiratory training once a day for 4 weeks.Before and after the treatment,the Kubota drinking water test (KDWT) was administered and a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) was performed to assess swallowing function.Forced vital capacity (FVC),forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were also measured to assess the subjects' pulmonary function.Results After the treatment,the average KDWT and VFSS scores were significantly better in the observation group than in the control group.The effectiveness rate of the observation group (85.71％) was significantly higher than that of the control group (61.90％).After the intervention,the average FVC [(3.57-±0.48)L],FEV1[(2.83±0.49) L/s] and PEF [(5.36±1.04) L/s] of the observation group were significantly better than those before the treatment and those of the control group after the treatment.Conclusion Swallowing training supported by respiratory training is superior to swallowing training alone for improving the swallowing (and pulmonary) function of post-stroke dysphagia patients.Such combined treatment is worthy of application in clinical practice.