STRAW SUCKING

Myofunktional Exercise  Collect ion

Application:

To enlarge klick picture

This exercise is chiefly designed for the muscle coordination under functioning in the pharynx region against retral deglutition and air flux guiding problems like snoring and sleep apnoea to guarantee a safe rear oral cavity closure. The target musculature for the training will be aside from the pharynx muscles also those of the mouth diaphragm, mouth slit and tongue. (Anatomy: Area I/3, Page 22).

Contents:

Functional coordination exercise, pseudo manipulated. Sucking at a drinking straw with simultaneous nose breathing.

Materials:

Drinking straw and some liquid. With the today offer in drinking straws the most relevant for this exercise should be specified: For most exercises appropriate might be a medium size deriving from the natural straw with a clear opening in diameter of about three millimetres.

Procedure:

- Previous exercises: The exercise is somewhat complex in its carry-out so it might be suggested to slot in exercises as  ,K-K-K’,  SNORCEL or GARGLE.

-Starting position: Not defined.

- Step-by-step-description:

-1 The patient puts the tubule into a glass of water taking the upper end between his lips.

-2 At first the patient will just keep breathing in a steady change in and out through his nose.

-3 Now while permanently breathing on the mouth diaphragm is lowered to suck in a sip of liquid through the straw into the oral cavum.

-4 After a deep inhaling follows a swallow (see remarks in “Discussion”) then continuing with step 2.

–Timing: With the described procedure a long sequence is built up getting a timed beat in a frequency through the step 4. A ten times repetition is recommendable. The single frequency extending from sucking the liquid in till swallowing should as well be timed; it is recommendable to proceed as slowly as to breathe five times in and out.

Characteristics:

Reflex exercise, coordination, sensomotor skills, function motor.

Remarks:

The exercise shows quite a complex spectrum efficacy and thus is applicable for complex impairments (pareses in the orofacial region or postop clefts corrections) and thus needs an exorbitantly conscientious guiding and training observation.

Discussion:

The swallowing (step 4) may, in dependency of the therapy planning, be executed in a distinct mode as in one of the versions of the ,1-2-3’-EXERCISE. Not only through this exercise a polyvalence is assigned.

The exercise in itself may be directed on most diverse aims as the velum closure, nosebreathing, oral diaphragm training or the oral opening.

Quite a similar exercise with a comparatively high level of difficulty is represented in the WATER PUMP which requests still more concentration and coordination and more over proceeds more continuously.

Instructions:

The breathing must, of course, even work when the mouth is busy.

So we get the mouth busy with sucking on a straw.

Most important is the breathing!

It must go on very steadily no matter what goes on.

A straw is planted into a glass of water and its upper end caught with the lips.

Breathing runs on!

At the same time slowly a sip of water gets sucked into the mouth.

Breathing runs on!

Now, briefly hold your breath and swallow, the:

Breathing runs on!

Again while breathing on very steadily suck up some water, briefly hold your breath and swallow.

Again while breathing on very steadily suck up some water, briefly hold your breath and swallow – ten times, then get a break.

Repetition as often as agreed.