Dysphagia, often known as swallowing disorder mainly affects stroke survivors. After a stroke, you might experience swallowing difficulties and may choke on food or drinks while eating. Dysphagia can also be found in older patients and babies due to nerve or muscle problems. This condition can be caused due to a large number of potential causes. However, like any disorders, Dysphagia can be treated by swallow therapy.
In this blog we will discuss the causes and treatment of Dysphagia.
Causes of Dysphagia that requires speech disorder therapy
The main cause of Dysphagia is damage to the central nervous system or the cranial nerves. Some of the other causes of Dysphagia are as follows:
- Stroke
- Brain injury
- Dementia
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
Dysphagia can also be caused due to problems in the head and neck because of the following conditions:
- Cancer in the oral cavity
- Any surgery in the neck or head
- Radiation or chemotherapy after a neck cancer treatment
In children, Dysphagia can be the result of a development disability such as cerebral palsy.
Whenever you face any issue in swallowing, visit a speech swallow therapy centre and start treating your swallowing problem treatment in Kolkata to manage the symptoms of Dysphagia.
The main symptom of Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing. Some of the other symptoms which you may experience are as follows:
- Drooling
- Inability to close lips
- Difficulty in chewing
- Change in the vocal quality
- Frequent coughing or throat clearing
- Discomfort in the esophagus
It is important to understand the signs and symptoms of Dysphagia and start your treatment early.
How is Dysphagia treated?
Swallow therapy can help in the treatment of Dysphagia. Your treatment will depend upon the cause and severity of your condition. Speech swallow therapist will examine your condition and suggest some swallowing exercises which patients need to practice.
Some of the common exercises which SLPs recommend to patients include
- Tongue push up and down to increase your ability to swallow
- Shaker exercise to improve your functioning of the upper esophageal sphincter.
- Ways to control your Adam’s apple
SLPs will recommend ways to position your body and put food in the mouth to help you swallow.
SLPs can even provide Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) to reeducate the swallowing muscles by using Vital Stim therapy and Vital Stim Plus therapy, depending on your requirement.
If you experience any difficulty in swallowing, you must consult a speech language pathologist to know the cause of the disorder and begin your treatment accordingly.
Patient review
Here is one patient sharing his experience
“Best service in Kolkata.. recommend everyone for speech therapy”