Rehabilitation of swallowing function

  The rehabilitation of the swallowing function is carried out in order to maintain the patient’s access to basic nutrition and to prevent the occurrence of aspiration pneumonia. The main methods are sensory stimulation, tongue movement facilitation, lip movement gymnastics, respiratory strength training, Mendelsohn method training and empty swallowing.  1, sensory stimulation commonly used are cold stimulation, tactile and pressure stimulation.  (1) Cold stimulation is usually arranged before meals, several times a day. Method: Place the laryngoscope or metal bar in ice water for 10 seconds, then place it on the palatal arch and rub it from side to side, telling the patient to do swallowing activities.  (2) Pressure stimulation includes lightly pressing the front 1/3 of the tongue with a spoon or tongue depressor or rubbing the lips and teeth with a lemon glycerin swab to stimulate swallowing movements, etc.  (2) Tongue movement facilitation The tongue makes horizontal, retracted and lateral movements; resistance is given with a spoon or tongue depressor to make resistance movements.  3, lip movement gymnastics, including open wide, smile, show teeth; repeated “eight, eight, beat, beat” sound; blowing air or soap bubbles. Each training, the patient should be instructed to hold the lip position for 5~10 seconds, and then return to the original resting position.  4, breathing strength training, including deep inhalation, slowly exhale, repeatedly say “ah, ah”, and as long as possible, “ah” time.  5.Mendelsohn method training The technique is as follows: when the patient swallows, the throat is lifted up and the patient stops the swallowing action when it is lifted up and pulled, and it is kept for 3~5 seconds, or the therapist holds the patient’s throat with his hand and lifts it up and pulled, and it is kept for 3~5 seconds.  6.Empty swallowing In order to make the transition from the above functional recovery training to complex swallowing action, empty swallowing action should be done after each treatment, which is important for the improvement of swallowing function.