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How the Tongue Is Involved in Chewing and Swallowing
There are a number of muscles that work together in different phases of chewing and swallowing, and the tongue is one of those muscles.
After the tongue aids in the process of swallowing, the rest of the muscles and nerves take over.
Strokesand other brain injuries can impair tongue movement, which invariably impairs the ability to swallow. Lack of normal swallowing ability is a serious problem and can result inpneumoniaor severe choking, potentially blocking air from getting into the lungs.
The exercises described below are meant to serve as a standard way of strengthening tongue function. For some survivors of brain injury and stroke, these exercises will be fairly easy to do. For others, performing them may feel as challenging as running an Olympic marathon.
Tongue Exercises
Depending on how weakened your tongue muscles have become after a stroke, you might or might not be able to perform one or more of the exercises.
Beyond tongue exercises, jointly published clinical guidelines for stroke recovery from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association also recommend upright positioning for feeding, using safe swallowing advice, and appropriate dietary modifications for people having difficulty with swallowing.
A Word From Verywell
A stroke can have some unexpected effects, such as trouble swallowing,muscle spasticity, and incontinence.While these effects are not disabling, they can interfere with your life. It is important that you discuss each of your stroke problems with your medical team so that you can get help and recover as fully as possible.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lee JH, Kim HS, Yun DH, et al.The relationship between tongue pressure and oral dysphagia in stroke patients.Ann Rehabil Med. 2016;40(4):620–628. doi:10.5535/arm.2016.40.4.6203. Adams V, Callister R, Mathisen B.Using tongue-strengthening exercise programs in dysphagia intervention.Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing. 2011;14(3):139-146. doi:10.3109/17549507.2012.752864Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, et al; American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research.Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke. 2016 Jun;47(6):e98-e169. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000098.Kuptniratsaikul V, Kovindha A, Suethanapornkul S, Manimmanakorn N, Archongka Y.Long-term morbidities in stroke survivors: A prospective multicenter study of Thai stroke rehabilitation registry.BMC Geriatr. 2013;13:33. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-33
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lee JH, Kim HS, Yun DH, et al.The relationship between tongue pressure and oral dysphagia in stroke patients.Ann Rehabil Med. 2016;40(4):620–628. doi:10.5535/arm.2016.40.4.6203. Adams V, Callister R, Mathisen B.Using tongue-strengthening exercise programs in dysphagia intervention.Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing. 2011;14(3):139-146. doi:10.3109/17549507.2012.752864Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, et al; American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research.Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke. 2016 Jun;47(6):e98-e169. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000098.Kuptniratsaikul V, Kovindha A, Suethanapornkul S, Manimmanakorn N, Archongka Y.Long-term morbidities in stroke survivors: A prospective multicenter study of Thai stroke rehabilitation registry.BMC Geriatr. 2013;13:33. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-33
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lee JH, Kim HS, Yun DH, et al.The relationship between tongue pressure and oral dysphagia in stroke patients.Ann Rehabil Med. 2016;40(4):620–628. doi:10.5535/arm.2016.40.4.6203. Adams V, Callister R, Mathisen B.Using tongue-strengthening exercise programs in dysphagia intervention.Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing. 2011;14(3):139-146. doi:10.3109/17549507.2012.752864Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, et al; American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research.Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke. 2016 Jun;47(6):e98-e169. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000098.Kuptniratsaikul V, Kovindha A, Suethanapornkul S, Manimmanakorn N, Archongka Y.Long-term morbidities in stroke survivors: A prospective multicenter study of Thai stroke rehabilitation registry.BMC Geriatr. 2013;13:33. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-33
Lee JH, Kim HS, Yun DH, et al.The relationship between tongue pressure and oral dysphagia in stroke patients.Ann Rehabil Med. 2016;40(4):620–628. doi:10.5535/arm.2016.40.4.620
- Adams V, Callister R, Mathisen B.Using tongue-strengthening exercise programs in dysphagia intervention.Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing. 2011;14(3):139-146. doi:10.3109/17549507.2012.752864
Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, et al; American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research.Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.Stroke. 2016 Jun;47(6):e98-e169. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000098.
Kuptniratsaikul V, Kovindha A, Suethanapornkul S, Manimmanakorn N, Archongka Y.Long-term morbidities in stroke survivors: A prospective multicenter study of Thai stroke rehabilitation registry.BMC Geriatr. 2013;13:33. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-33
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