How to Improve Swallowing in Elderly Adults

Difficulty swallowing, or Dysphagia, is more common than you might think for elderly adults. While it may seem like just an annoyance, it is actually quite serious. Difficulty swallowing can lead to aspiration, the term for when food enters the airways or lungs. This can lead to infections, pneumonia and other problems, so trouble swallowing should not be taken lightly. 

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How to Improve Swallowing

There are a variety of tongue exercises for swallowing that can help reduce the swallowing difficulty. Usually a speech pathologist or other healthcare provider will help you learn how to do the exercises to make sure you are doing them correctly. Some of those exercises might include:

• Sticking your tongue out as far as possible and using a tongue depressor or spoon to provide resistance. For example, stick your tongue out and press down on the tongue with the spoon while pushing upwards with your tongue. Hold for a few seconds, rest and then repeat a few times. You can do the same exercise with the spoon under your tongue as well. 
• Extend your tongue as far as possible to the corner of your mouth while it pushes on a spoon or tongue depressor. Hold for a few seconds, relax, and then repeat on the other side of the mouth. 
• Another tongue exercise for swallowing is to extend your tongue along the roof of your mouth until it touches the back of your top teeth. Then curl your tongue all the way into the back of your mouth as far as possible. Hold for a few seconds, relax your tongue, then repeat. 

Swallowing therapy exercises like pushing your tongue around your mouth can seem a bit silly, but they are useful to help improve the muscles you need to swallow. A few other exercises for swallowing problems include using your voice. Your speech-language pathologist may suggest you try pitch glides, moving your voice from very low to very high. A falsetto exercise requires sustaining a high-pitched “eee” sound to get different parts of the larynx working. Gargling, or even just pretending to gargle, also gets the swallowing muscles working. 

Tips to Improve Swallowing in Elderly

In addition to exercises for swallowing difficulties, some other tips can help manage the issue and reduce stress at mealtimes:

• Sit up as straight as possible when eating
• Brush your teeth or rinse out the mouth before eating
• Take small bites of food
• Chew food slowly and completely before swallowing
• Take small sips of water between bites of food
• Take your time and relax during your meals – avoid distractions like the TV or your phone. 

Another option to aid in difficulty swallowing is using a thickener. Thickeners make beverages and soups a thicker consistency so they move more slowly down the throat. This makes them easier to control and less likely to slip into airways can cause aspiration. Commercial thickeners come in a variety of types and flavors, and are meant to be used for beverages. Food can be thickened with things like powdered potatoes, rice, or tapioca. 

While difficulty swallowing should definitely be discussed with your primary doctor, it will most likely be a speech pathologist who will officially diagnose you and provide treatment options. They are the experts in this area and can provide the most help. Just be sure to take any difficulty swallowing seriously. We want meal times to remain enjoyable and relaxing for everyone.