earticle

영어

Purpose: The current study seeks to identify the effect of neck muscle strengthening exercise using proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on the swallowing ability of patients diagnosed with dysphagia due to stroke. Methods: As a single case study, the current research conducted neck muscle strengthening exercise using PNF on the patient with dysphagia for 40 minutes, four times per week for a six-week period. At the same time, typical rehabilitation therapy for dysphagia was provided. This type of therapy included food-swallowing and the relation of the muscles surrounding the neck. The functional dysphagia scale and the penetration-aspiration scale were used to assess swallowing ability. Results: After the therapy, the functional dysphagia scale and the penetration-aspiration scale decreased by 18 points and 3 points, respectively, which proves the effectiveness of this type of therapy for dysphagia. Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that neck muscle strengthening exercise using PNF reduces penetration-aspiration in patients with dysphagia, and that PNF can be clinically utilized to improve the swallowing ability of dysphagic patients.