In the literature, there are various investigations assessing the effectiveness of the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in diverse patient populations diagnosed with dysphagia. To date there is not an extensive amount of literature on the use of NMES in individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). From the literature that is available few researchers utilized surface electromyography (sEMG) as an outcome measure. The purpose of this case study is to evaluate the efficacy of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) paired with active swallowing and traditional therapy, to assess if the intervention will result in greater muscle firing as measured by surface electromyography (sEMG) when compared to traditional swallowing therapy in isolation. The primary principle underlying the use of NMES dictates that electrical stimulation can enhance muscle functioning during active swallowing (Toyama et al., 2014), therefore this modality was paired with effortful swallowing and resistance-based exercises. The treatment, in the A-B-A single-subject design, was intensive both from an exercise physiology and session frequency standpoint (three times per week for eight weeks). The outcome revealed improvement in sEMG firing during the intervention phase which remained during withdrawal. Additionally, quality of life measurements, via the SWAL-QOL, improved. Treatment effects were generalized across both participants. The results support the use of NMES in conjunction with active swallowing to improve dysphagia and quality of life in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.
Keywords: dysphagia, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), Parkinson’s disease, surface electromyography (sEMG), SWAL-QOL, swallowing
