E08 sEMG & The Evolution of Swallowing Rehabilitation with Professor Maggie-Lee Huckabee
Dysphagia Research BitesShow Notes
If there's one thing that hasn't aged well in dysphagia management, it's the idea that swallowing is only a reflex. Over the past few decades, our understanding of cortical control in swallowing has fundamentally shifted, and so have our approaches to rehabilitation. In this episode, Professor Maggie-Lee Huckabee walks us through that evolution: from reflex-based compensation, to muscle strengthening, to where we are now: skill-based training that targets neural networks and motor planning. We also get into the practical side of surface EMG biofeedback, what it actually is, how it differs from NMES, and how to use it clinically.
In this episode we cover: The distinction between sEMG and NMES How our understanding of cortical control in swallowing has evolved, and what that means for how we approach rehabilitation The shift from compensation-based approaches to muscle strengthening, and then to skill-based training The importance of the cranial nerve examination in directing our rehabilitation approach How skill-based swallowing impairments might look on VFSS Practical application of sEMG biofeedback BiSSkApp: an sEMG biofeedback system that patients can use at home while clinicians can have remote access to data
The publication this episode is based on: Huckabee, M-L., Mills, M., Flynn, R., & Doeltgen, S. (2023). The evolution of swallowing rehabilitation and emergence of biofeedback modalities. Current Otorhinolaryngology Reports, 11, 144–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40136-023-00451-8
Where to find the resources mentioned: BiSSkApp by Swallowing Technologies (SwalTech): https://swaltech.com/bisskapp/
For comprehensive evidence-based dysphagia education beyond the podcast, head to: https://www.dysphagiabites.com/clinical-swallow-evaluation-course
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