More than 71% of SLP practices report that they use exercise-based interventions to remediate dysphagia. Further, the current literature is replete with articles on exercise principles, exercise claims and techniques to “apply” exercise. However, the forms of “exercise” and their application in treatment vary widely. Moreover, little information is available on exactly how to apply the principles in a meaningful way, whom to offer this form of therapy to, when to apply it and how to gage and modulate intensity across therapy. Similarly, although it is well known that patients with swallowing disorders have difficulty engaging the swallowing system efficiently, data regarding the actual “resting decline” in the system associated with ageing versus disease remains unclear. Concerns continue over managing the dilemma of safety vs physiologic practice. This critical gap in knowledge leads clinicians to underutilize “ on and off therapy” activities as a potential source of motor consolidation for functional swallow advancement.
This seminar will present information (data) and use case examples, videos and interactive problem solving to address the following; • How “underutilized “is my patient’s system? • Balancing safety vs capacity building for dysphagia • Tweaking exercise treatments by modifying aspects related to the person, the task, and the environment o Applying and measuring the stages of skill acquisition to swallow exercise rehabilitation o Developing and modulating practice parameters to drive progress Integrating o Low cognitive load training by leveraging the Vagal -Gut -Brain axis o Balancing implicit vs explicit learning o Maximizing motor practice and self-controlled practice
Learning Objectives:
Describe the difference between motor conditioning and motor learning and how to integrate these concepts in the rehabilitation of a dysphagic patient.
Compare and contrast application and timing of different practice strategies to enhance the swallowing of your patient.
Identify simple, non -invasive ways to measure the patient’s skill, learning and performance across the dysphagia treatment trajectory