Is the combined application of tongue pressure training and tongue base exercise more effective in improving the strength of tongue and lips in korean patients with flaccid dysarthria

The objective of this study was to identify the effects of the tongue-pressure exercise protocol and the traditional orofacial exercise on the articulation muscle and percentage of correct consonants of the patients with dysarthria.

This study was performed on 21 patients who were diagnosed with flaccid dysarthria due to stroke. The subjects were randomly divided into a control group (tongue-pressure protocol only; n=11) and a treatment group (tongue-pressure protocol and tongue base exercise; n=10). The maximal tongue strength (kPa) and the maximum lip strength (kPa) were estimated by measuring those three times and choosing the highest number.

The results of ANCOVA showed that the maximal tongue strength, maximal lip strength, and articulation accuracy were significantly different between the two groups (p<0.05). The results of parameter estimation revealed that the treatment group had 3.5kPa higher maximal tongue strength and 1.0 kPa higher maximal lip strength than the control group. On the other hand, the correct articulation (%) was higher in the post-test than the pre-test in both groups, but there was no significant difference between groups.

The results of this study showed that the combined rehabilitation program consisting of the tongue-pressure protocol and tongue base exercise improved the maximal tongue strength and maximal lip strength significantly more than the single rehabilitation program consisting only of the tongue-pressure protocol.