Tongue-Strengthening Exercise in Older Adults With Sarcopenic Dysphagia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

To investigate the effects of tongue-strengthening exercise (TSE) based on exercise intensity on tongue strength and thickness in older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia.

Participants were randomly assigned to groups 1 and 2. Group 1 underwent TSE at an intensity of 80% 1-repetition maximum (1RM) for 90 times/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks. In contrast, group 2 performed TSE at an intensity of 50% 1RM for the same period and number of times as group 1. The outcome measures were tongue strength, thickness and dropout rate owing to exercise compliance.

Tongue strength increased from 16.7 to 22.1 kPa in Group 1 (d = 2.97) and from 16.9 to 19.1 kPa in Group 2 (d = 1.18). Tongue thickness increased from 37.1 to 40.5 mm in Group 1 (d = 1.13) and from 37.9 to 38.8 mm in Group 2 (d = 0.31). Post-intervention, Group 1 achieved greater gains than Group 2 in both strength (+3.0 kPa, d = 1.46) and thickness (+1.7 mm, d = 0.56). Dropout rates were 26.7% in Group 1 and 6.7% in Group 2.

TSE with an intensity of 80% 1RM was more effective than 50% 1RM in increasing tongue strength and thickness in older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia, but showed a relatively high dropout rate. Thus, it is recommended to select and apply an appropriate exercise intensity.