Hope for People Who Can’t Swallow

	Ashley Shoemaker, speech-language pathologist with South Central Regional Medical Center, uses therapy on a patient, John Earl Patrick.

Dysphagia is the inability to swallow or difficulty in swallowing. An estimated 15 million people in the U.S. alone have a current diagnosis of dysphagia, with more than a million new cases occurring annually. Unfortunately, each year, nearly 60,000 people die from complications associated with swallowing disorders.

From pediatric to geriatric, dysphagia is not limited to age. It is often associated with multiple diagnoses, conditions, and forms of neuromuscular diseases. Dysphagia is a secondary complication from many conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, mouth or throat cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and several other degenerative and muscular conditions. If this condition is not properly managed, it can lead to aspiration pneumonia, or chronic malnutrition.

"Often patients see dramatic improvements. Not only does the patients’ swallow function improve, but their quality of life also is enhanced," says Ashley Shoemaker, MSCCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist at South Central.

Dysphagia is often managed medically through the use of a feeding tube. Patients with the tube experience personal discomfort and drastic reduction in the quality of lifestyles due to the inconvenience of feeding tubes.

VitalStim Therapy is a new medical breakthrough used in the treatment of swallowing disorders. It is an active rehabilitation program, combining electrical stimulation and therapeutic programming. This new therapy incorporates a specialized neuromuscular electrical stimulation system and uniquely designed surface electrodes to stimulate inactive swallowing musculature commonly found in dysphagia patients. Using VitalStim to activate key swallowing muscles allows clinicians to implement an active regimen of therapy. The swallowing muscles “relearn” the patterns needed to swallow normally.

VitalStim enables patients to swallow all consistencies of food with a combination of the therapy and dilation. Patients can expect to see dramatic improvement in six to 20 daily sessions. Ashley Shoemaker, MSCCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist at South Central, says, “Often patients see dramatic improvements. Some differences between conventional or traditional dysphagia therapy and VitalStim are fewer overall sessions, significant improvements in a shorter period of time, and possibly decreased need for alternative feeding. Not only does the patients’ swallow function improve, but their quality of life is also enhanced. VitalStim can be used to treat people with dysphagia as well as facial weakness.”

South Central Regional Medical Center’s speech-language pathologists utilize VitalStim Therapy. For more information about this new medical breakthrough, call Ashley Shoemaker, Alex O’Neal, or Beth Bergin in the Speech Therapy Department at South Central at 399-0534.

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