Regular practice of these exercises can strengthen throat muscles. But they should only be undertaken with guidance and approval from your speech-language pathologist.
Dysphagia, which involves food or liquid entering the airways and lungs (aspiration), requires larynx-lifting exercises to avoid aspiration. A dysphagia therapist might suggest diet adjustments or thickeners for thin liquids to aid in this process.
Tilt Your Head
Your doctor or speech-language pathologist may recommend tongue strengthening exercises if you have trouble with the pharyngeal phase of swallowing (dysphagia). This condition is common after stroke, head and neck cancer surgery or other medical conditions and should be strengthened as soon as possible to avoid aspiration of food or fluid into airways and lungs – also known as aspiration.
A therapist can teach you how to perform this exercise safely by helping you to find the optimal positions for your throat and jaw, both with or without food in your mouth. They may also demonstrate how best to perform it with or without eating beforehand.
In this exercise, you lean forward and place a flat object like a spoon or tongue depressor at the top of your mouth. Push against your tongue with this object while stretching as far as you can toward the corner of your mouth; hold for several seconds then repeat on other side.
Studies have demonstrated the benefits of performing this exercise to strengthen pharyngeal phase of swallowing and reduce aspiration. Your therapist can guide you in finding the optimal method based on your specific condition, results of an instrumental evaluation or videofluoroscopy evaluation and food in the mouth (if applicable), frequency and repeat repetitions to do this exercise effectively. Note: As these exercises may cause muscle fatigue over time, please start slowly increasing repetitions as your performance improves.
Tilt Your Neck
As survivors of injuries to their head, neck or esophagus experience difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), regular throat exercises can help strengthen muscles and nerves responsible for swallowing processes.
One of the easiest throat exercises is sticking out your tongue and trying to touch it to the roof of the mouth ten times. After each time, stretch out and hold both directions of tongue positioning for a few seconds before returning it to its original center position.
As part of their recovery plan, survivors may benefit from practicing “dry” swallowing exercises to assist with swallowing. This involves swallowing their own saliva while contracting muscles involved. Once finished, you can cough up any leftover saliva or food debris.
These exercises may seem tedious or silly to some people, but there are no physical adverse reactions associated with doing them. Your speech-language pathologist can recommend specific exercises tailored specifically to help treat your particular condition.
Swallowing exercises are designed to close off the larynx (voice box) and improve swallowing, and may be performed either on one’s own or with assistance from a speech-language pathologist. An SLP may recommend specific exercises tailored specifically for you that may improve your condition while working to ensure they’re safe; they will also make sure not doing exercises that might worsen it further. Some exercises that could potentially benefit include:
Tilt Your Mouth
The swallowing reflex involves coordinated actions from various muscles. Unfortunately, those suffering from dysphagia often have weak swallowing muscles. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can prescribe exercises designed to increase strength and coordination among these muscles to increase swallowing ability.
Start off by performing a dry swallow without food in your mouth. To do this, place your tongue between your teeth and lips, lifting slightly forward before swallowing as normal. Perform this exercise several times each day until muscle fatigue sets in; there should not be any pain or discomfort associated with the exercise.
Exercise while lying down, but for maximum effect it should be performed while sitting or standing upright. When performing this exercise, be careful to neither lean back nor arch your neck; your goal should be to prolong upward laryngeal movement while keeping the top of the esophagus (the cricopharyngeus) open for longer.
As well as offering swallowing exercises, an SLP may suggest diet changes to facilitate better swallowing, such as using a straw or spoon, taking smaller bites of food, and thickening liquids. If you or a loved one is having difficulty swallowing, it is essential that they consult their healthcare team immediately – please reach out today so we can show how we can assist!
Tilt Your Tongue
Tongue-to-palate resistance exercises can help strengthen and mobilize the muscles in your mouth and throat, and may be recommended by doctors or SLPs if you’re having trouble swallowing (dysphagia). They may be combined with other types of treatments, such as diet changes, eating positions adjustments, medicines and thickeners as part of an overall approach for better swallowing health.
Larynx-closure exercises can strengthen and control the muscles of your throat. They’re useful if you have trouble swallowing due to weakness in the larynx (also called voice box). Aspiration occurs when food or liquid enters your airways or lungs through any opening in your larynx and causes aspiration.
To perform this exercise, place your thumb in your mouth and stretch your tongue back toward the back of your upper teeth. Hold this position for several seconds to increase tongue flexibility. Alternatively, gently push down on the center of your tongue using your finger or a tongue depressor while simultaneously allowing either side of it to curl upward.
Clamp your teeth together and purse your lips like you are about to whistle as an exercise to strengthen jaw and facial muscles, reduce snoring during sleep, and possibly help prevent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder in which soft tissues relax back behind your throat to block off airways during restful slumber.
Tilt Your Jaw
Exercise’s aim is to slow the upward movement of your larynx (voice box), so it stays open longer as you swallow. Squeezing throat muscles as though you had something stuck at the back of your mouth (for example a grape-sized piece of food). For optimal results, repeat these exercises as frequently as recommended by your physician or SLP.
An effective exercise for strengthening both tongue and jaw involves placing something flat, like a spoon or tongue depressor, onto your tongue and pressing against it while making sounds such as “mmmm”. Do this several times.
This exercise strengthens both tongue and jaw to combat snoring by improving nasal breathing. Furthermore, it prevents loose throat muscles from collapsing during sleep which could otherwise lead to either severe obstructive snoring or mild obstructive snoring.
Exercise known as myofunctional therapy or oropharyngeal exercises.” They can be done by anyone having difficulty swallowing, and may also benefit those snorers with mild-moderate obstructive sleep apnea. However, mouth and throat exercises should not replace good dental hygiene or sleeping posture practices.
Tilt Your Head
As you become more adept at this exercise, you can gradually increase the frequency and duration of head lifts. Be careful not to extend your neck muscles too far when lifting. Strength building takes time so be patient – for optimal results perform mouth and throat exercises when distractions are minimal.
As with most exercises, this one works best without food in your system. Repeated practice of this exercise should produce results; you may need to perform several times each day until results show themselves. Doing this exercise will help reduce snoring and improve overall sleep quality.
As you swallow, air passes through both your pharynx and larynx. A small piece of tissue called the epiglottis acts like a flap covering your windpipe (trachea) when swallowing to keep food and fluids from getting into your lungs. Muscle weakness in certain areas can make swallowing food and liquids challenging, and swallowing exercises may help strengthen, mobilize, and control these muscles so you can swallow normally again. A doctor or SLP may prescribe these exercises as part of your treatment plan; they can be performed in your home or at the clinic and should usually be combined with other types of swallowing exercises; their sequence will be explained to you by them.
