Your child is working on specific sounds that aren’t coming out clearly when they communicate if they are receiving Articulation Therapy Activities in a classroom setting.
Exercises to strengthen your tongue might enhance your ability to swallow. You might be able to improve the strength and mobility of your tongue with some practice. When combined with other swallowing exercises, this could help you become more adept at swallowing. Parents frequently struggle to come up with inventive and enjoyable ways to keep their kids interested in practicing their articulation. Even if your child has difficulties staying still, you can still play these fantastic activities with them!
You chew food until it is the right size, shape, and consistency to swallow before you swallow. When you swallow, this substance travels from your mouth into the pharynx, a region of your throat. The chewed food next travels via your oesophagus, a long tube, before entering your stomach and the rest of your digestive system.
Your muscles along this path must perform a sequence of synchronized activities to complete this movement. It may be difficult to swallow if something is malfunctioning. It may be challenging to swallow properly if you have weak muscles in these places. Exercises for the swallowing muscles can improve their power, flexibility, and control. This might eventually enable you to resume normal swallowing.
Why may I possibly require tongue-tightening exercises?
If you have problems swallowing, you might need to undertake tongue-strengthening exercises. Dysphagia is a term used to describe this illness.
Aspiration can result from dysphagia. This occurs when food or other debris unintentionally gets within the lungs or airways. Because it may result in pneumonia and other issues, this is a serious situation. Dysphagia needs to be identified and treated very away.
Your doctor and SLP may suggest swallowing exercises, such as tongue-strengthening exercises, as part of your therapy strategy. This could be used in conjunction to other treatments such as dietary adjustments, posture alterations while eating, medication, or surgery. Your swallowing muscles can become stronger with practice. As a result, you might swallow more easily and avoid aspiration.
A variety of medical disorders might cause difficulties swallowing. Examples include:
- Stroke
- Dementia
- throat and head cancer
- head trauma
- conditions like Sjögren syndrome can cause a decrease in saliva
- Parkinson’s disease or other disorders of the nerve system
- muscular malformations
Esophageal blockage brought on by a tumor or a history of incubation
History of cancer in the neck or throat treated with radiation, chemotherapy, or both
If your 1SpecialPlace SLP believes you are experiencing problems with your first phase of swallowing, he or she may be more likely to recommend tongue-strengthening activities. For instance, dementia or a stroke may cause this.
What takes place during tongue-strengthening exercises?
Your SLP can demonstrate the precise exercises you need to perform and explain how frequently you should do them. As an illustration, you might be requested to:
- As far as you can, stick out your tongue. Place something flat on your tongue, such as a spoon or tongue depressor. Push the flat object against your tongue and the object against your tongue. Hold the position for a few seconds. 5. Repetition.
- Five times, repeat the last exercise. Instead, place the spoon or tongue depressor beneath your tongue this time.
- Pushing against a depressor, extend your tongue as far as you can to the corner of your mouth. Hold the position for a few seconds. Relax. On the opposite side of your mouth, repeat. Five times through the entire procedure.
- Your tongue should be extended to the ribbed area of your mouth above your teeth. Then, extend as far back toward the rear of your mouth as you can with your tongue. Hold for a short while. 5. Repetition.
Other exercises may be suggested by your SLP to help you swallow in different ways and increase your strength and range of motion at the base of your tongue. For instance, you might be asked to:
- Take a deep breath in while tightly holding it. As if you were having a bowel movement, press in. As you swallow, keep holding your breath and lowering yourself. A super-supraglottic swallow is what this is. Several times, repeat.
- Hold your tongue as far back as you can and pretend to gargle. Repeat.
- Hold your tongue back as far as possible and pretend to yawn. Repeat.
- Dry-swallow while contracting all of your swallowing muscles to the fullest extent possible. Consider ingesting a vitamin whole and dry. Several times, repeat.
You’ll typically combine workouts for strengthening your lips and cheeks with exercises for strengthening your tongue while doing exercises for swallowing. If so, perform them in the same order every time to ensure that you don’t skip any exercises. Your medical team can design a set of workouts that target the exact cause of your swallowing issues.
You can get detailed instructions from your SLP on how to perform each exercise and how frequently you should do it. For the greatest results, you’ll frequently need to perform your workouts several times everyday.
What happens following tongue-tongue exercises?
After performing your tongue-strengthening and other swallowing exercises, you can continue your regular activities.
Keeping track of each time you perform your swallowing exercises is a smart idea. You are reminded to perform your exercises as directed by this. Additionally, it gives your SLP insightful input on your development. Write the exercises you performed and the times you performed them. Make a note of any issues as well so you may talk to your SLP about them.
As they track your development, your SLP and medical team may modify your workouts. Bedside swallowing examinations or other imaging methods, such as fiber optic evaluation of swallowing, may be a part of this surveillance. You might not see a change in your swallowing for a few weeks.
Your risk of aspiration will decrease as your capacity to swallow increases. Your SLP might be able to alter your diet and let you resume eating particular foods. Your dietary intake, general health, and general quality of life can all be enhanced by this. As directed by your SLP, keep performing all of your Tongue Exercises For Speech Therapy. Missing practice sessions could result in less improvement. To treat your problem appropriately, work carefully with each member of your medical team.