Specificity of training in the lingual musculature

Training specificity for a number of exercise parameters has been demonstrated for the limb musculature. The current study is a Phase I exploration of training specificity in the lingual musculature.

Twenty-five healthy participants were assigned to 1 of 5 training conditions. Four groups completed 4 weeks of lingual exercise targeting strength, endurance, power, or speed; a control group did not exercise. Performance measures of strength, endurance, power, and speed were obtained before and after training.

Although statistically significant group effects were not detected, specificity was observed with respect to effect size for the performance variables of strength, endurance, and power. Further evidence of specificity was provided by the finding that training isotonic endurance did not increase performance on an isometric endurance task. Speed training did not improve performance on any of the outcome measures, nor did speed increase following training with any of the exercises.

The findings provide initial evidence that training specificity may be observed in the lingual musculature. The reported effect sizes can inform future studies examining the benefit of training muscle functions underlying speech and swallowing.