The effect of progressive resistance training on acquisition and retention of swallowing maneuver in healthy adults

Abstract

Resistance training is often incorporated in dysphagia management. Yet a successful training regimen requires appropriate and systematic resistance structuring. This study investigated the effects of progressive resistance training (PRT) with the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on acquisition and retention of swallowing maneuver in healthy adults. Thirty-two participants aged 18 – 50 years were assigned to constant (n = 16) or progressive resistance group (n = 16). They received three sets of training on the same day utilizing Mendelsohn maneuver. Submental surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to measure the average duration and amplitude of maneuvers at pre-training, post-training and one-week retention phases. Results showed that both groups demonstrated significant increase in duration of maneuver across three phases. Significant increase in amplitude of maneuver was also found in progressive resistance group between pre-training and post-training phases. However, significant group difference was found only in one-week retention phase, in which constant resistance group demonstrated longer duration than progressive resistance group. Though further studies with larger sample size and longer training duration are necessary to show a clearer relationship on the impact of PRT on learning swallowing maneuvers, this study suggests the feasibility of NMES as a resistance load for swallowing training.