Effective exercises to relieve dysphagia and strengthen throat muscles

Dysphagia is a health condition that can affect a person's ability to swallow food and drink normally, which may lead to long-term nutritional and health issues. In this article, we will discuss effective swallowing exercises that are used as treatment to improve this problem. These exercises help strengthen the muscles of the throat and mouth, making the swallowing process easier. If you suffer from dysphagia or face difficulty swallowing food, these exercises could be the ideal solution to improve your condition and restore your ability to swallow with ease and safety. Follow our Medical Guide to learn about the most important exercises you can perform to improve swallowing and alleviate the bothersome symptoms of dysphagia.

How to Prepare for Tongue Strengthening Exercises

Consult a Specialist if Needed
If you have speech or swallowing issues, it's best to consult a specialist:
- Speech Therapist: To assess your condition and provide a tailored exercise plan.
- Oral and Jaw Physical Therapist: For advice on swallowing and tongue strengthening.
- Dentist: To ensure your oral health is in good condition before starting exercises.
Choose an Appropriate Environment
Select a quiet and comfortable place to focus on your exercises. It’s also helpful to have a mirror to monitor your tongue and lip movements during the exercises.
Ensure Oral Health
Before exercising, make sure to:
- Clean your mouth: Rinse your mouth thoroughly to remove any food residue.
- Hydrate your mouth and tongue: Drink water to prevent dryness in your mouth.
Warm Up Before Exercises
Just like any physical exercise, warming up the tongue muscles is important:
- Move your tongue gently: Move it in different directions to stimulate the muscles.
- Simple stretching: Move your tongue forward and backward slowly to activate the muscles.
Choose Suitable Exercises
Start with simple exercises, such as:
- Raising the tongue to the roof of your mouth or moving it in different directions.
- Gradually increase the difficulty: Once you feel comfortable, you can make the exercises more challenging.
Focus on Breathing
- Deep Breathing: Ensure your breathing is regular and deep during the exercises.
- Avoid holding your breath: Do not hold your breath during exercises for optimal results.
Rest and Gradual Progression
- Rest between exercises: Take short breaks between sets of exercises.
- Start gradually: If you're a beginner, begin with light exercises and increase repetitions gradually.
Monitor and Track Progress
- Observe your progress: Use a mirror to monitor your tongue movements or keep a log to track improvements.
- Evaluate performance: If you experience any pain or discomfort, stop and reassess the exercises.
Consistency and Persistence
- Exercise daily: For the best results, dedicate time to practice daily.
- Patience: It may take time to see improvements, so be patient.
Relax After Exercises

Relaxation exercises: Move your tongue slowly inside your mouth to relax after each session.
Drink water: Helps to hydrate your mouth after the exercises.

Importance of Tongue Strengthening Exercises: Key Benefits

Tongue strengthening exercises are essential activities that improve oral and swallowing health, along with various bodily functions. Here are the key benefits of these exercises:

Improved Speech and Articulation
The tongue plays a crucial role in forming letters and words. Weak tongue muscles may cause speech difficulties. Tongue strengthening exercises help in:
- Clearer speech: Training the tongue for precise movement helps articulate letters more clearly, especially those requiring delicate movements like "r" and "l."
- Speech disorder treatment: These exercises are useful for people who struggle with speech disorders like stuttering or slurring.
Improved Swallowing
Swallowing relies on coordination between the mouth and throat muscles. Weak tongue muscles can lead to swallowing problems, such as:
- Difficulty swallowing food or liquids: Muscle weakness can cause swallowing issues, increasing the risk of choking.
- Solving swallowing disorders: Tongue exercises improve muscle coordination, preventing food from entering the airway.
Enhanced Oral Health
The tongue naturally helps clean the mouth. Strengthening the tongue muscles contributes to:
- Better natural mouth cleaning: The tongue helps remove food particles and bacteria from the mouth.
- Prevention of bad breath: Strengthening the tongue helps prevent bacterial buildup, which reduces bad breath.
Prevention of Jaw Disorders
Tongue exercises help improve muscle balance in the mouth and jaw:
- Improved dental closure: Strong tongue muscles help improve proper mouth closure.
- Prevention of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues: Tongue exercises reduce pressure on the jaw joint, preventing jaw pain.
Enhanced Breathing Functions
The tongue helps guide airflow through the mouth and nose:
- Improved breathing while speaking: Strengthening the tongue muscles helps improve airflow during speech and physical activities.
- Reducing snoring: Tongue exercises strengthen the throat muscles, helping reduce snoring.
Strengthening Facial Muscles
The tongue is connected to many muscles in the face and mouth, so strengthening it also helps:
- Better facial appearance: Tongue exercises strengthen facial muscles, which helps enhance the appearance of the mouth and cheeks.
- Combat sagging: Strengthening the tongue muscles reduces sagging caused by weak muscles.
Maintaining Tongue Flexibility
As you age, the tongue muscles may lose flexibility. Daily exercises help:
- Increase tongue flexibility: Improving muscle flexibility contributes to better speech and swallowing abilities.
Prevent Digestive Problems
The tongue plays an essential role in the digestive process by helping chew food and mix it with saliva:
- Better chewing process: Strengthening the tongue improves your ability to chew food, which helps in easier digestion.

Types of Tongue Strengthening and Swallowing Improvement Exercises

Tongue strengthening and swallowing exercises are vital activities that improve oral and health functions. These exercises focus on strengthening the tongue and mouth muscles, contributing to better speech and swallowing. Here are some of the main types of these exercises:

Exercises for Tongue Strengthening
- Tongue Lifting Exercises
  - Description: Lift the tongue towards the roof of the mouth, attempting to touch the back part of the roof or throat.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue muscles and increases flexibility, improving speech and tongue movement during swallowing.
- Tongue Movement Exercises
  - Description: Move the tongue in different directions, such as in circles, side-to-side, or forward and backward.
  - Benefit: Improves tongue flexibility and its ability to move freely, aiding in speech and swallowing.
- Tongue Push Against Teeth
  - Description: Gently move the tongue against the front or side teeth.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue muscles and the surrounding muscles, improving the balance between oral muscles and enhancing speech and swallowing.
- Forward Tongue Push
  - Description: Push the tongue forward as far as possible, hold it in a static position for five seconds, then return it.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the front muscles of the tongue and improves its movement during speech and swallowing.
- Other Tongue Direction Movements
  - Description: Move the tongue down, left, and right to its maximum range.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the lateral and lower muscles of the tongue, improving overall tongue movement.
Exercises for Swallowing Improvement
- Air Swallowing Exercise
  - Description: Take a deep breath, then swallow air through the mouth without swallowing food or liquid.
  - Benefit: Strengthens throat and swallowing muscles and enhances coordination between muscles involved in swallowing.
- Soft Food Swallowing Exercise
  - Description: Swallow a small piece of soft food or liquid after taking a deep breath, gradually repeating the exercise.
  - Benefit: Strengthens swallowing muscles and improves coordination between the mouth and throat.
- Jaw and Tongue Movement During Swallowing
  - Description: Move the jaw up and down while swallowing, pushing the tongue forward.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the mouth and jaw muscles, improving coordination between muscles during swallowing.
- Circular Pharyngeal Movements
  - Description: Gently move food or liquid in a circular motion towards the throat while swallowing.
  - Benefit: Improves coordination between throat muscles and increases the body’s ability to manage food or liquid during swallowing.

Tongue and Swallowing Exercises in English

Swallowing Exercise with Head Position Change
- Description: Change your head position by tilting it downwards, then to the sides or forward while swallowing.
- Benefit: Enhances coordination between the throat muscles and improves swallowing movement.
Exercises to Improve Coordination Between Tongue and Mouth
- Tongue Pressure Exercise
  - Description: Place the tongue on the roof of the mouth and gently press for five seconds, then repeat the exercise.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue muscles and improves coordination between muscles involved in speech and swallowing.
- Tongue and Lips Exercise
  - Description: Move the tongue between the lips while moving the lips up and down simultaneously.
  - Benefit: Improves coordination between the tongue and lips, enhancing speech, especially for sounds that require both tongue and lip use.
- Breathing While Swallowing Exercise
  - Description: Take a deep breath before swallowing, then simulate the swallowing motion calmly and deliberately while breathing.
  - Benefit: Improves coordination between the breathing and swallowing processes, making swallowing easier and more comfortable.
Exercises to Improve Tongue Flexibility
- Rolling Exercise
  - Description: Roll the tongue into a cylindrical shape and then return to its normal position.
  - Benefit: Enhances tongue flexibility and increases the ability of the muscles to perform required movements during speech and swallowing.
- Stretching Exercise
  - Description: Stick the tongue out as far as possible and hold for a few seconds.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue and increases its flexibility.
Exercises to Improve Sensory Awareness of the Tongue
- Mouth Touch Exercise
  - Description: Using the tongue, lightly touch the lips and teeth from the inside.
  - Benefit: Improves coordination between tongue and mouth movements, enhancing speech and swallowing.
- Swallow Hold Exercise
  - Description: Hold the swallow after the first gulp in the throat for 3-5 seconds.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the muscles controlling swallowing and improves coordination between the tongue and throat.
- Tongue Pressure While Swallowing Exercise
  - Description: While swallowing food, gently press the tongue against the roof of the mouth.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the muscles controlling the throat, making swallowing smoother.
Exercises to Improve Tongue and Mouth Flexibility
- Reverse Tongue Exercise
  - Description: Place the tongue on the roof of the mouth, then move it as far back in the mouth as possible, holding for a few seconds.
  - Benefit: Increases tongue flexibility and improves coordination between the tongue and other parts of the mouth.
- Tongue Around Teeth Exercise
  - Description: Move the tongue around the teeth from the inside in circular motions.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue muscles and improves its flexibility, making speech and swallowing easier.
Exercises to Improve Coordination Between the Mouth and Throat
- Strong Mouth Closure Exercise
  - Description: Close your mouth while pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then hold for 3 seconds.
  - Benefit: Improves coordination between the tongue and mouth muscles and strengthens the muscles around the throat.
- Breathing and Swallowing Exercise
  - Description: Take a deep breath, then try swallowing food or liquid while breathing through the nose.
  - Benefit: Enhances coordination between breathing and swallowing, making swallowing easier.
Facial Muscle Exercises Integrated with the Tongue
- Smile and Tongue Stretch Exercise
  - Description: Smile and stretch your tongue as far as possible forward while keeping the smile for 5 seconds.
  - Benefit: Strengthens facial and mouth muscles, increasing the flexibility of the tongue, improving speech and swallowing.
- Mirror Exercise
  - Description: In front of a mirror, try mimicking your tongue movements while pronouncing certain letters, with synchronized lip movements.
  - Benefit: Improves coordination between the tongue and lips, enhancing the strength of facial muscles.
Speech Enhancement Exercises
- Quick Letter Pronunciation Exercise
  - Description: Repeat the letters that require fast tongue movements, such as "b", "t", "d", and "s".
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue muscles and improves the ability to speak quickly and clearly.
- Musical Pronunciation Exercise
  - Description: Pronounce words and musical notes while moving the tongue up and down with each note.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the tongue muscles and improves coordination between the tongue and vocal cords.
Nasal Breathing Exercises
- Slow Breathing Exercise
  - Description: Breathe slowly through your nose for 5 seconds, then exhale slowly for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times.
  - Benefit: Enhances coordination between breathing and swallowing, helping the tongue move smoothly.
- Breathing While Speaking Exercise
  - Description: While speaking, try breathing naturally through your nose, focusing on balancing tongue movement for clear speech.
  - Benefit: Helps improve coordination between breathing and speaking, making swallowing easier and smoother.
Pharyngeal Muscle Exercises
- Swallowing with Resistance Exercise
  - Description: Swallow saliva or food while resisting the pressure of swallowing with your tongue.
  - Benefit: Strengthens the muscles around the pharynx, making swallowing easier and preventing choking.
- Swallowing with Chin Lift Exercise
  - Description: While swallowing, slightly lift your chin.
  - Benefit: Enhances throat movement during swallowing, making it easier for food or liquid to pass.
Yawning Exercise
- Description: Place your tongue at the back of the mouth and simulate yawning while keeping your tongue in this position for 5-10 seconds.
- Benefit: Helps stretch swallowing muscles and strengthen the base of the tongue, improving swallowing ability.
Blowing Through a Straw or Bottle Exercise
- Description: Take a deep breath and blow it into a cup of water through a straw, trying to make consistent bubbles without interruption.
- Benefit: Helps coordinate breathing with swallowing, preventing unintentional inhalation and improving safe breathing and swallowing.
Mendelsohn Maneuver
- Description: Swallow naturally and pay attention to when the Adam's apple (larynx) rises. The next time you swallow, gently hold the Adam's apple at its highest point for two seconds before relaxing.
- Benefit: Strengthens the muscles responsible for raising the larynx during swallowing, improving swallowing coordination and making it easier for food to pass through the throat effectively.