Effect of Bridge Position Swallow on Esophageal Motility in Healthy Individuals Using High-Resolution Manometry.
Kei Aoyama, Kenjiro Kunieda, Takashi Shigematsu and 2 others
PMID 32749546WHAT IT FOUND
Swallowing in a bridge position produced stronger lower esophageal contractions and shorter contraction-wave breaks than upright in healthy people.
It may suggest an esophageal-phase technique, but patient outcomes were not tested.
Key findings
01Distal esophageal contraction strength was higher in the bridge position than in the upright position.
02Peristaltic breaks were shorter in the bridge position than in the upright position.
03Esophagogastric junction pressure and integrated relaxation pressure were higher in the bridge position than in the upright position.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Thirteen healthy adults, 8 men and 5 women, mean age 34 years, so the findings may not apply to older or dysphagic patients. Two participants had ineffective esophageal motility, which may have influenced the small sample averages. Only 5 swallows were obtained in each position, while clinical manometry usually uses 10. The body angle of the bridge position was not measured. Bolus movement was not assessed by videofluoroscopy. The positions were always tested in the same order, upright, supine, then bridge.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this paper to tell a patient that a bridge posture will improve swallowing. It measured pressure changes in 13 healthy adults, did not test people with dysphagia, and did not show that food or liquid moved better.