Difference in tongue strength using visual feedback in healthy adults.
Ji-Hoon Kim, Jae-Wan Choi, Sang-Hoon Lee and 1 others
PMID 29643575WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy adults pressed their tongue harder against a pressure sensor when they could see the force in real time.
Scores were 45.5 kPa with visual feedback versus 41.1 kPa without. This shows feedback boosts effort in healthy people, not that it improves swallowing function.
Key findings
01Tongue strength measured by the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument was significantly higher when participants received visual feedback (45.5 ± 9.3 kPa) compared to no visual feedback (41.1 ± 8.6 kPa).
02Visual feedback was provided via an LCD window showing force amount and eight lamps that ignited progressively as more power was generated.
03The study included only healthy adults with no neurologic or structural damage affecting swallowing, so findings cannot be applied to patients with dysphagia.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was conducted exclusively on healthy adults, so it is unknown whether visual feedback has the same effect or clinical benefit in patients with dysphagia. The outcome was a single measurement of tongue pressure, not a functional swallowing assessment. The sample size was small (n=30).
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that visual feedback improves swallowing function or is a proven treatment for dysphagia. The study only showed that healthy people press harder when they see the numbers; it did not test patients with swallowing difficulties or measure any functional outcome.