Effect of Systematic Effortful Swallowing Exercise on the Activation Level of the Submental Muscles and Tongue Strength in Older Adults

The ES exercise program, which was structured by systematically adopting exercise principles related to strength training, significantly improved the swallowing-related muscle strength of healthy older adults. It is suggested that this effect was caused by systematic warm-up exercises applied prior to performing strengthening exercises for swallowing-related muscles, resistance and biofeedback provision using IOPI during main exercise, and provision of sufficient rest time between sets. Further research is needed to systematically examine the effects of variables related to the composition of exercise programs.