Can I avoid dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) as I get older?

Before I answer this question, let me explain what dysphagia is: Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing, and it becomes more common with aging due to:

• Sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and strength), including the muscles involved in swallowing
• Reduced tongue strength and coordination
• Neurological changes affecting motor control
• Changes in salivary flow or dental status

These changes can lead to presbyphagia, the term for age-related, non-pathological changes in swallowing that may eventually become dysfunctional.

You may not prevent 100% of age-related decline, but evidence strongly suggests that you can delay or reduce the risk of dysphagia by maintaining orofacial muscle function through structured myofunctional therapy.

Think of it like strength training for your face and tongue.

Just like lifting weights helps prevent falls and frailty, orofacial exercises may help you keep swallowing strong and safe as you age.

Dysphagia can be avoided, or have its risk reduced through the practice of oral myofunctional exercises.

Myofunctional therapy may help reduce the risk of dysphagia as we age, according to growing scientific evidence. Here’s an explanation based on peer-reviewed research and clinical findings:

Myofunctional therapy involves targeted exercises for the tongue, lips, soft palate, and other orofacial muscles. Its benefits include:

1. Improved Tongue Strength and Endurance

• Tongue pressure is strongly correlated with safe swallowing.
• Studies show that weak tongue pressure is a predictor of dysphagia.

2. Maintenance of Orofacial Muscle Coordination

• Myofunctional therapy improves neuromuscular control of the tongue, lips, and soft palate.
• This coordination is critical during the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing.

3. Prevention of Swallowing-Related Complications

• Regular myofunctional exercises can increase muscle reserve, which may help buffer age-related decline.

Evidence:
Robbins et al., 2005 (J Am Geriatr Soc) showed that older adults who did tongue-strengthening exercises significantly improved their tongue pressure and swallowing function.

Maeda & Akagi, 2015 (Geriatr Gerontol Int) found a link between low tongue pressure and aspiration risk in elderly patients.

Van den Steen et al., 2020 (Dysphagia): Myofunctional exercises improved swallowing coordination in patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia.

Matsubara et al., 2022 (Clin Interv Aging) showed that older adults who performed regular oral muscle exercises had better oral function and were less likely to develop frailty-related dysphagia.

Hori et al., 2013 (Dysphagia) found that elderly patients with higher baseline tongue pressure were less likely to develop aspiration.

Park et al., 2020 (J Clin Med) showed that oral exercise programs reduced the incidence of dysphagia in community-dwelling older adults.