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Alicia Martin-CowgerFollow
Dianna Evers, Idaho State UniversityFollow
Christy Osterhout, Cornerstone Pediatric Speech Therapy, LLC, Kuna, IdahoFollow
Katie Small, St. Luke’s Children’s Rehabilitation in Magic ValleyFollow
Shelly Ashbocker, Minidoka County School District, Rupert, IDFollow
Eric Astel, Cache County School District, Logan, UTFollow
Rebecca Burke, Salem Health and Rehabilitation, Salem, ORFollow
Natalie DahlFollow
Rebecca FishFollow
Jeanette Fountain, Salem Health and Rehabilitation, Salem, ORFollow
Sandra Frickey, Premier Therapy Associates, Rexburg IDFollow
Elizabeth Holbrook, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise, IDFollow
Carmen IvesFollow
Cassie Dallaserra, Kaiser Permanente South Medical Center, Sacramento, CAFollow
Leigha JuravichFollow
Savannah LeckingtonFollow
Ashley Purser, Beaverton School District, Beaverton, ORFollow
Heather Randolph, Randolph Speech Therapy, PLLC, Sarasota, FLFollow
Catherine Reed, Bitterroot Health, Stevensville, MTFollow
David Ross, Carlos Albizu University, Miami, FL/San Juan, PR; Florida Voice and Swallowing Diagnostics, LLC, FLFollow
Kristine SedlezkyFollow
Chad Seibold, Cleartalk Speech Therapy, Twin Falls, IDFollow
Erin Sholes, Great Falls Public Schools, Great Falls, MTFollow
Amanda Sisneros, Serenity Transitional Care, Twin Falls, IdahoFollow
Blake Tanner, St. Luke's Medical Center, Twin Falls, IDFollow
Casey Ulrich, Casey's Specialty Speech, LLC, Pocatello, IDFollow
Joni Grey Loftin, Idaho State UniversityFollow
Anthony Seikel, Idaho State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined lifespan changes in maximum tongue strength, swallowing time, and masseter activity during swallowing. It provides normative data with which to compare clinical assessments of orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMD) and oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD).

Method: 409 healthy participants without identified OMD or OPD (ages 5 – 79 years) provided instrumental measures of tongue strength and electromyographic measurements for oropharyngeal transit time and masseter activity during swallows of four boluses. Participants were placed in three broad age groups (5 – 15, 16 – 59, 60 – 79) for cross-sectional analysis.

Results: Differences were found between age groups for tongue strength, such that the youngest group had significantly lower anterior tongue strength than the other groups, and lower posterior tongue strength than the 16 – 59 age group. Anterior tongue strength was significantly greater for males than females; posterior tongue strength did not differ significantly between the sexes. The youngest group had longer oropharyngeal transit times than either of the two older groups for most boluses. Swallowing transit time decreased in duration across the age groups, from youngest to oldest, for the 2.5 cc pudding bolus. Both right and left masseters differed in activation among tasks and age groups. The oldest age group had consistently greater levels of activation of the right masseter, and all groups had greater activation for the cracker bolus. Spearman rank-order correlations largely confirmed the inferential statistics and provided evidence of a relationship between tongue weakness and increased oropharyngeal transit time.

Conclusion: Maximum tongue pressure generation and oropharyngeal timing measures support a developmental hypothesis, with lower tongue strength and longer swallowing transit times for children ages 5 through 15. The smaller pudding bolus provided the greatest differentiation among the age groups, which may prove to be a functional indicator for clinical evaluation. These results are largely consistent with existing data for tongue strength and oropharyngeal swallowing transit times.

Keywords

orofacial myology assessment, tongue strength, swallowing, normative data, age differences, sex differences, clinical assessment

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