Electrical stimulation in the therapy of dysphagia: current knowledge - a narrative review

Dysphagia, a sensorimotor disorder impairing swallowing, affects millions globally, compromising quality of life and increasing risks of malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, and healthcare costs. Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) is an emerging adjunctive therapy delivering low-frequency electrical impulses to stimulate swallowing muscles, enhancing strength, coordination, and neuroplasticity. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on NMES efficacy in dysphagia treatment across pediatric and adult populations, emphasizing muscle-specific outcomes and translational myology applications. In pediatric patients with primary or neurological dysphagia, NMES improves suprahyoid, facial, and tongue muscle activation, enhances swallowing efficiency and reduces tube-feeding dependency In adults, particularly post-stroke, NMES improves laryngeal elevation, Upper Esophageal Sphincter (UES) opening, and quality of life, though efficacy in head and neck cancer patients is limited. Methodological limitations, including small sample sizes, protocol heterogeneity, and lack of assessor blinding, hinder generalizability. NMES is safe, with minor adverse effects such as erythema and holds promise as a valuable adjunct in dysphagia rehabilitation, but requires standardized protocols and robust trials to optimize its role in clinical myology.