Use Of A Tongue Strength Training Device And Its Relationship With Speech In Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Characterized by dopaminergic neurodegeneration, Parkinson's Disease (PD) manifests various motor symptoms, including: rigidity, bradykinesia, resting tremor, and postural instability, which impact the speech of affected individuals as they progress. Considerable advances have been made regarding speech assessment methods, and a globally recognized intervention model is used as the gold standard for speech-language therapy in individuals with Parkinson's Disease. However, currently, instruments such as the IOPI (Iowa Oral Performance Instrument Measures) have been gaining ground in the assessment and therapy of these subjects. Thus, this work aims to apply an intervention model for speech therapy in PD patients using IOPI as a treatment tool through a randomized clinical trial. This study will consist of three phases: The first phase will consist of random allocation of subjects between control and intervention groups. Sequentially, all subjects will undergo speech assessment using speech tasks: maximum phonation time through sustained vowel /a/, diadochokinesis of alternating syllables /pataka/, counting numbers from 1 to 15, sentence reading, and monologue, then IOPI will be used to verify the tongue pressure of participating subjects. The second phase will encompass therapy with the IOPI instrument in the intervention group, and the third phase will be the reassessment of subjects from both groups. It is considered that the findings of this study may contribute to the addition of new instruments to therapy and, thus, provide new approaches and expansion of the therapeutic perspective for the speech of subjects with PD.