Effects of Tongue Exercise Frequency on Tongue Muscle Biology and Swallowing Physiology in a Rat Model.
Brittany N Krekeler, Jacqueline M Weycker, Nadine P Connor
PMID 32130514WHAT IT FOUND
In rats, tongue exercise five days a week increased tongue force more than one or three days, but did not change muscle biology or swallowing speed.
Low-dose exercise still improved force. These findings do not yet apply to human patients.
Key findings
01Five days per week of tongue exercise produced the greatest increase in tongue force compared to lower frequencies and sham controls.
02Changes in tongue force were not accompanied by significant changes in muscle fiber size, composition, or mitochondrial markers in the genioglossus muscle.
03Swallowing physiology measures such as bolus speed and mastication rate did not show consistent improvements with increased exercise frequency.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in rats, so results may not translate to human physiology. Only the genioglossus muscle was examined; other tongue muscles were not analyzed. The exercise task may not have been sufficiently intense to cause observable biological changes in muscle fibers or mitochondria. Variability in rat movement during swallowing studies made it difficult to accurately measure bolus speed and size. The study did not measure actual muscle contractile properties, only voluntary force generation.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the increase in tongue force as evidence that swallowing function or muscle health improved. The study found no significant changes in muscle biology or consistent improvements in swallowing physiology, despite the strength gains.