Above 40% people have trouble swallowing or cannot swallow after a stroke resulting from dysphagia. Dysphagia, attributable to difficulty controlling the oral muscles accountable for swallowing, may end up in serious complications similar to malnutrition or aspiration pneumonia.

This text discusses post-stroke dysphagia, including potential treatment options for people who find themselves unable to swallow after a stroke. Use the links below to go on to any section:

What causes dysphagia after stroke?

Dysphagia is a condition characterised by difficulty swallowing. This often happens resulting from impaired control over the throat muscles accountable for swallowing. There are two predominant ones forms of dysphagia: :

• Oropharyngeal: involves difficulty moving food from the mouth to the throat
• Esophagus: involves difficulty moving food from the esophagus to the stomach

Oropharyngeal dysphagia could be attributable to quite a few neurological conditions and is a standard secondary effect of stroke. When a stroke damages the a part of the brain that controls the throat muscles, similar to the motor cortex or brainstem, the brain cannot accurately send and receive information from these muscles. Because of this, this will likely prevent the survivor from controlling the muscles obligatory for swallowing, resulting in dysphagia.

The severity of dysphagia ranges from mild difficulty swallowing to finish inability to swallow after stroke. Survivors of dysphagia may require alternative technique of nutrition, similar to soft foods or thickened fluids. In severe cases, a feeding tube could also be advisable.

Potential complications when survivors are unable to swallow after a stroke

Although dysphagia often improves through the first two weeks After a stroke, some people have trouble swallowing for weeks or months after the stroke. Continuing rehabilitation can assist maximize your possibilities of long-term improvement and return to normal swallowing function. Nonetheless, if left untreated, dysphagia can result in serious complications which may be life-threatening.

For instance, when the muscles within the throat and esophagus don’t function properly, food or liquids may enter the airways as a substitute of being swallowed. This may cause bacteria to enter the lungs and cause an infection that may result in aspiration pneumonia. The truth is, in comparison with acute stroke survivors without dysphagia, those with dysphagia have already passed 4 times more likely be liable to aspiration pneumonia.

Malnutrition AND dehydration it will probably also occur if the survivor is unable to swallow after a stroke. When an individual cannot eat or drink like they used to, they could not eat in any respect. Moreover, some survivors must only eat foods of a certain consistency or have thickening agents added to their drinks, which could be unappetizing and result in skipped meals. The truth is, studies estimate that about 20% of stroke survivors are malnourished, which is why close monitoring of nutrition is so necessary.

Dysphagia may increase the danger of choking. For the victim’s safety, it’s strongly advisable that every one meals be supervised by a caregiver or member of the family. When an individual is in hospital after a stroke, the speech therapist will often make further safety recommendations.

Resulting from the severity of those complications, amongst others: Difficulty swallowing after a stroke is taken very seriously by hospital medical teams. To scale back the danger of further complications, individuals with dysphagia should work closely with a speech therapist to learn eat and drink safely after a stroke.

Tips on how to improve swallowing after a stroke

Swallowing is a motor skill that many stroke survivors can relearn through rehabilitation. Using motor rehabilitation methods, swallowing skills could be improved, which results in improved nutrition and quality of life.

Resulting from their expertise in understanding the functions of the mouth, tongue and throat, dysphagia is generally treated by a speech therapist. An SLP may use the next interventions to maximise your possibilities of regaining swallowing ability after a stroke:

Rehabilitation exercises

Performing swallowing exercises can assist improve communication between the brain and the muscles involved in swallowing. Although these exercises may circuitously involve swallowing, they can assist train related muscles and improve oral motor control.

Consistently and repeatedly performing swallowing exercises can promote adaptive brain remodeling in a process generally known as neuroplasticity. If you practice a task repeatedly, neuroplasticity allows your brain to create and strengthen the neural connections related to that task. This permits the brain to regain functions which have been impaired or lost because of this of stroke-related brain damage.

Subsequently, repetitively performing swallowing exercises can stimulate neuroplasticity and encourage the formation of recent neural networks, improving oral and motor function. With enough time and practice, this will maximize your possibilities of regaining the power to swallow effectively.

Compensation techniques

Although retraining the brain and muscles to swallow is probably the most effective ways to regain the power to swallow after a stroke, recovery takes time. Until the survivor is in a position to swallow successfully, it is crucial to guard their safety by minimizing the danger of choking or silent aspiration (inhaling food or drink into the lungs without symptoms).

Listed below are some suggestions for survivors to contemplate to enhance safety:

• Eat soft foods – are easier and fewer tiring to chew, which can assist survivors eat enough food and stop malnutrition
• Drink thick fluids – Thick drinks flow slower than thin liquids, reducing the danger of choking or aspiration
• Consider sitting straight – eating and drinking in a non-upright position is difficult and dangerous since it increases the danger of choking or aspiration
• Eat slowly – this reduces the danger of choking by chewing the food properly
• Avoid foods with different consistencies – foods similar to chunky soup could also be difficult to chew properly and will be dangerous for dysphagia
• Add moisture to food – adding liquids similar to milk, broth, juice or sauce to foods can improve ease of swallowing

These compensation techniques can assist protect the protection of individuals recovering from a stroke. While these are good generalized recommendations, it is crucial to do not forget that the speech therapist will determine what consistency of food and fluids is protected at any given point within the survivor’s recovery.

They might initially recommend eating only purees and thickened liquids, after which steadily introduce more textured foods as swallowing skills improve. Although speech-language pathologists often trial latest food textures within the clinic before changing consistency recommendations, eating in a supervised setting is strongly advisable, especially when beginning to eat latest foods.

Complementary treatments

Along with rehabilitation exercises and the usage of compensatory techniques, treatment for dysphagia is commonly advisable. These are generally not stand-alone treatments, but can enhance improvement when used together with other therapeutic techniques. These include:

• Electrical stimulation: Applying gentle electrical impulses to the muscles across the throat can improve the connection between these muscles and the brain, stimulating neuroplasticity. Is increasingly more evidence to display that using electrical stimulation combined with rehabilitation exercises can assist improve outcomes. A speech therapist may recommend a selected electrical stimulation device and train survivors to make use of it properly.
• Acupuncture: Placing superb needles at specific points on the body can assist alleviate many post-stroke conditions, including dysphagia. The truth is, it exists evidence that acupuncture can significantly improve swallowing ability.
• Swallowing maneuvers and/or biofeedback: Typically advisable for individuals with intact cognitive function, practicing specific swallowing techniques or modifying swallowing techniques based on individualized visual information can assist survivors relearn swallow effectively.

If stroke survivors are unable to swallow, continued treatment is obligatory to make sure they’re fit for human consumption and drink and stop complications. Under the guidance of a speech therapist, a number of of the above treatments could be used to enhance swallowing after a stroke. Along with treatment within the clinic, survivors should proceed to soundly practice swallowing exercises at home to optimize neuroplasticity.

How long does dysphagia last after a stroke?

Although dysphagia is common after stroke, greater than half All acute stroke survivors with dysphagia recuperate inside two weeks. Nonetheless, every stroke is different and due to this fact recovery can be different for everyone. Moreover, although dysphagia often occurs initially after a stroke, some survivors develop dysphagia later within the recovery period.

More severe strokes often result in more persistent dysphagia, depending location and size stroke. When dysphagia is severe, a feeding tube could also be obligatory initially to avoid malnutrition. They could be removed when your swallowing ability improves.

Studies only show 6 months after stroke 5% survivors with dysphagia require a feeding tube, while the overwhelming majority of survivors have regained the power to swallow effectively. Although the timeline for stroke recovery varies from individual to individual, following a consistent rehabilitation plan can maximize your recovery.

Prospects for stroke survivors with dysphagia

If stroke survivors cannot swallow, it is an indication of dysphagia. Dysphagia needs to be taken seriously because it will probably result in other complications. Cooperation with a speech therapist is obligatory. These specialists can diagnose any speech or swallowing problems, suggest appropriate compensatory techniques, and supply appropriate exercises to assist retrain the brain to manage the oral muscles.

Recovery time varies depending on the survivor. Some survivors regain the power to swallow throughout the first two weeks after a stroke, while others must proceed rehabilitation to encourage the brain to transform. With consistent practice, most individuals are in a position to regain the power to swallow after a stroke.