COMPARISON OF NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVATION EFFECTS OF THREE DIFFERENT EXERCISES ON SUPRAHYOID MUSCLES IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS

Purpose:The most important airway protection mechanism during swallowing is adequate laryngeal elevation. Suprahyoid muscles are responsible for laryngeal elevation. The aim of our study was to compare the effects of three different exercises including Shaker, CTAR and a new method Chin Tuck with TheraBand Exercises on suprahyoid muscles activity. Methods:Forty-two healthy subjects with a mean age of 27.92±5.02 years (min=18, max=40), of which 50% were male were included. All individuals were divided into three groups; Chin Tuck Against Resistance (CTAR); Group 1, Shaker exercise; Group 2, Chin Tuck Exercise with Theraband (Theraband); Group 3, with computerized randomization. Surface EMG evaluation was performed to determine electrical activity of the suprahyoid muscles during maximal voluntary isometric contraction and during performing CTAR, Shaker exercise and Chin Tuck with Theraband. Normalized suprahyoid muscle activations were calculated as: Recorded Maximum Electrical Activity During Exercise (mV) / Recorded Maximum Electrical Activity During Maximum ？sometric Contraction (mV). Results:A statistically significant difference was found between three groups in terms of normalized suprahyoid muscle activiteit (p<0.001). The difference between three groups was caused by the difference between Group 1 and Group 2 (p<0.001) and between Group1 and Group 3 (p=0.040) in favor of Group 1. No difference was found between Group 2 and Group3 (p=0.104). Conclusion:In conclusion, primarily CTAR exercise should be included in rehabilitation to increase the suprahyoid muscle activation. In addition, chin tuck exercise with Therband can also be considered as an alternative to CTAR