NIGHT SWALLOW CONTROL

Myofunktional Exercise  Collection

Application:

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This exercise may be included into the last phase of the restitution of the swallow reflex to its habituation during the sleeping phase (nighttime saliva deglutition)

Contents:

Pseudomanipulation, unconscious reflex training.

Materials:

Some liquid, pipette, assistant person.

Procedure:

- Previous exercises: All exercises for the construction of the swallow reflex will have to be worked out successfully. As an aiding measure the therapist asks the patient to practice once more an advanced version of the ,1-2-3'-EXERCISE (as DIMPLE or ,KA') and suggests to repeat it before going to bed while planning (best in some way of MENTAL TRAINING) to swallow only like that for the action planned.

-Starting position: The patient gets informed before going to rest what will be happening and, thus, has decided to swallow correctly as taught. He sleeps.

- Step-by-step-description:

-1 A family member, an assistant person will approach the sleeper silently and puts a few drops of hand warm water on the closed lip slot while trying to watch the swallowing movement.

-Timing: For a provided sequence of nights (about three to five) once a night.

Characteristics:

Pseudomanipulated, habituation, motivation (for a self control).

Remarks:

Should the difficulties with the realization appear stronger then expected this would foster the decision to evade it in favour of other exercises as CONTINUOUS SWALLOW and BLANK SWALLOW .

Discussion:

At the first confrontation with this exercise it may raise doubts about its contents and sense. In this exercise it does not matter so much that an assistant person will state at night in the dark whether the patient does swallow correctly in the qualified way, rather, in a way of autogenic training, this exercise should bring about that the patient will prepare to swallow at night in the studied way as an unexpected control is imminent. This is the only exercise to be found dealing with the problem of the nocturnal habituation of the swallow reflex.

Further it is described as an increase that the observer should try to open the lip slot with the soft pressure of two fingertips. This, for once, to better adapt the liquid, besides to be able to control the tongue movement better.

This is especially important in a tendency for a proversion of the tongue-tip between the incisors.

In that way the exercise is, as well, suitable to control the position of the tongue tip at its POINT (about this also see the exercise KEEP-THE-POINT).

The action surely is not easy in its realization and so not to be expected from each family member.

Instructions:

Would you say you know that you are swallowing correctly at night? This is going to be examined. And this is how the exercise goes: Somebody gets the task

to come to your bed at night with a little syringe to tip a few drops of water on your lips. The water will be swallowed automatically. Correctly?

Just to get it the correct way you will put a glass of water on your bedside table before you go to sleep.

The, before you fall to sleep, you take repeatedly take some water and swallow it in the way we have talked about in one of our last training sessions. Then you plan to do that at night in the respective situation just the same way.

In the morning you may try to remember if you did everything the right way.