Effect of Shaker Exercise on Dysphagia Level among Patients with Cerebral Vascular Stroke

Abstract

Dysphagia is one of the major post-stroke complications that can severely damage patient's quality of life and even endangers patients’ lives. Shaker exercise is one of the indirect methods, behavioral swallowing techniques, may increase the swallowing speed and sensitivity. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Shaker exercise on dysphagia level among patients with cerebral vascular stroke. Study design: A quasi-experimental design was utilized to achieve this aim. Setting: This study was conducted at Neurology Ward, Stroke ICU and Intermediate Neurological ICU affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospital, Cairo. Sample: A purposive sample included 68 patients. Tools of data collection: Data were collected using three tools: 1- Structured Interviewing Questionnaire, 2- Clinical data tool, 3- Gugging Swallowing Screening (GUSS) scale. Results: There was a highly statistical significance difference in GUSS score of dysphagia level among patients pre and post implementation of Shaker exercise (P<0.001). The Conclusion: Dysphagia exercise therapy as Shaker exercise was an effective measure in enhancing the swallowing ability among stroke-induced dysphagia patients. Recommendation: Replicate the study on a larger group; selected from different geographical areas in Egypt to obtain more generalized findings in relation to current study