Question
What is the current thinking and/or clinical research on the effectiveness of myofascial release when used with dysphagia patients?
Answer
Myofascial Release can help with speech, dysphagia, TMJ, breath support/respiration, voice disorders, aphasia, just to name a few. There are hyoid releases, thoracic techniques, cervical techniques, as well as intra-oral techniques which help open up the intraoral structures, allowing for ease of swallowing, improved swallow reflex, improved tongue mobility for increased ability to manage food and mastication.
The drag that can be created on the fascial system can transmit excessive pressure (2,000 lbs per square inch) into the hyoid, cervical, and TMJ apparatus. Neurologically the downward drag can put pressure on the trigeminal nerve that innervates the TMJ area and muscles of mastication and/or glossopharyngeal and hypoglossal nerves, producing symptoms in the regions that Speech Pathologists treat everyday.
More and more Speech Pathologists are coming to the John F. Barnes' Myofascial Release Seminars. They are reporting back to us that after taking the seminars that their patients are doing significantly better, making incredible gains in their progress and these SLP's are now doing only Myofascial Release in their practice. For more information, please call 1-800-327-2425 (1-800-FASCIAL), and visit our website www.myofascialrelease.com.
Donna Killion, MS, CCC/SLP, LMT received her Masters of Science in Speech Language Pathology from James Madison University in 1992 and her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Allegheny College in 1988. She is currently a senior instructor with the John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Seminars along with her work as a Speech Pathologist and Licensed Massage Therapist at the Myofascial Release Treatment Center in Paoli, Pennsylvania and Therapy on the Rocks in Sedona, Arizona.
