The Effects of Oral-Motor Exercises as a Rehabilitation Approach on Chewing and Swallowing Functions in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Purpose: This randomized controlled study aimed to evaluate the effects of oral-motor exercises in addition to conventional physiotherapy on chewing performance and swallowing function in children with cerebral palsy. Materials and Methods: Forty children aged 3–17 years with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy were randomly assigned to either a conventional physiotherapy plus oral-motor exercise group or a conventional physiotherapy-only group. The intervention period lasted eight weeks. Chewing performance, swallowing function, and feeding-related symptoms were assessed using validated clinical outcome measures. Results: In the oral-motor exercise group, statistically significant improvements were observed in chewing performance, swallowing function, and eating-related symptoms after treatment (p<0.05). Intergroup comparisons demonstrated statistically significant differences in favor of the oral-motor exercise group. Conclusion: Incorporating oral-motor exercises into conventional physiotherapy programs may enhance chewing and swallowing functions in children with cerebral palsy and support functional outcomes in pediatric rehabilitation.

Keywords

• Cerebral Palsy
• swallowing
• chewing
• oral-motor exercises
• rehabilitation

Serebral Palsili Çocuklarda Oral-Motor Egzersizlerin Rehabilitasyon Yaklaşımı Olarak Çiğneme ve Yutma Fonksiyonları Üzerine Etkisi: Randomize Kontrollü Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma, serebral palsili çocuklarda konvansiyonel fizyoterapiye ek olarak uygulanan oral-motor egzersizlerin çiğneme performansı ve yutma fonksiyonu üzerindeki etkilerini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Randomize kontrollü tasarıma sahip bu çalışmaya, 3–17 yaş aralığında serebral palsi tanılı 40 çocuk dahil edilmiştir. Katılımcılar, konvansiyonel fizyoterapiye ek olarak oral-motor egzersiz uygulanan grup ve yalnızca konvansiyonel fizyoterapi uygulanan grup olmak üzere ikiye ayrılmıştır. Müdahale süresi sekiz hafta olarak planlanmıştır. Değerlendirmelerde Karaduman Çiğneme Performans Skalası, Gugging Yutma Tarama Testi ve PEDI-EAT-10 kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Oral-motor egzersiz uygulanan grupta, tedavi sonrası çiğneme performansı, yutma fonksiyonu ve yeme ile ilişkili semptomlarda istatistiksel olarak anlamlı iyileşmeler saptanmıştır(p<0,05). Gruplar arası karşılaştırmalarda ise oral-motor egzersiz uygulanan grup lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklar olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sonuç: Oral-motor egzersizlerin konvansiyonel fizyoterapiye eklenmesi, serebral palsili çocuklarda çiğneme ve yutma fonksiyonlarının iyileştirilmesine katkı sağlamaktadır. Bu bulgular, oral-motor egzersizlerin rehabilitasyon programlarına entegre edilmesinin klinik açıdan yararlı olabileceğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Serebral Palsi
• yutma
• çiğneme
• oral-motor egzersiz
• rehabilitasyon

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