Effects of electrical stimulation combined with dysphagia therapy in elderly individual with oropharyngeal dysphagia: a case study

[Purpose] The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of dysphagia therapy in an old man with difficulty swallowing in the oral and pharyngeal phases. [Subjects and Methods] The subject was a 72-year-old man with no history of neurological disorders. He was admitted to local hospital because of the complaint of swallowing difficulty. The interventions performed were electrical stimulation and conventional dysphagia therapy. We assessed the tongue and lip muscle strengths. Swallowing function was evaluated by using the videofluoroscopic dysphagia and penetration-aspiration scales. [Results] After the intervention, the tongue and lip muscle strengths increased from 35 to 39 kPa and from 18 to 23 kPa, respectively. Moreover, the oral and pharyngeal phases of the videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale were improved. Furthermore, aspiration decreased from 4 to 2 points in the penetration-aspiration scale. [Conclusion] Our results suggest that electrical stimulation and conventional dysphagia therapy were effective in improving the swallowing function in an elderly individual with dysphagia.