The sequence of swallowing events during the chin-down posture

Jennifer L. Young, Phoebe Macrae, Cheryl Anderson, Isha Taylor-Kamara, Ianessa A. Humbert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the effect of the chin down posture on the sequence of swallowing events in healthy adults. Method: Sixteen healthy participants performed 45 5-ml thin liquid swallows during video fluoroscopy: 5 neutral head position, 30 chin-down posture, and then 10 neutral head position. Eight swallowing events were measured: the time of hyoid burst, bolus head in the pharynx, bolus tail in the pharynx, laryngeal vestibule closure (LVC), upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opening, bolus head in the UES, bolus tail exiting the pharynx, and laryngeal vestibule opening (LVO). Results: Our key finding is that LVC was one of the first 3 swallowing events in 69% of neutral swallows and in 78% of chin-down swallows (p = .006). Also, LVO occurred last in 14% of chin-down swallows but never occurred last in the preceding neutral swallows (p ≤ .001). Thus, in chin-down swallows, LVC occurred earlier and LVO occurred later. Conclusions: The chin-down posture may be beneficial for individuals with delayed onset of LVC and reduced duration of the LVC. Future studies are needed to examine this effect in individuals with dysphagia.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)659-670
Number of pages12
JournalAmerican journal of speech-language pathology
Volume24
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Otorhinolaryngology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language
  • Speech and Hearing

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