It is the time of year when those with Parkinson's, have a friend or family member with Parkinson’s, and those who work with or on behalf of people with Parkinson's spread awareness of the condition. Within the brain, the substantia nigra contains cells that make the chemical dopamine. Dopamine acts like a messenger that alerts another area of the brain when you want to move a part of the body. When the cells that make dopamine start to die and the dopamine level becomes too

Treatment for oral, head, and neck cancer can cause swallowing problems. Head and neck cancer includes oral cancer and laryngeal cancer. How much trouble you may have depends on the type of cancer, surgical intervention, and other treatments needed such as radiation or chemotherapy. Signs of Swallowing Problems After Head and Neck Cancer the need to swallow many times to clear food from your mouth and throat a gurgly, wet-sounding voice after swallowing coughing or choking du

Xerostomia describes the sensation of oral dryness and is commonly called “dry mouth.” Some typical causes of dry mouth include medications, radiotherapy to the head and neck for cancer treatment, and systemic diseases. Xerostomia can have a profound, negative impact on quality of life. The lack of salivary production impacts the ability to eat, sleep, speak, and swallow. Adequate salivary flow allows us to speak clearly without our lips sticking to our teeth and helps us swa

If a person has difficulty with secretion management or has anterior spillage of the bolus, there are probably some labial seal issues; therefore, therapy will address the orbicularis oris and labial seal with resistive labial exercises. The tongue has to move the bolus from side to side, recollect the bolus and move it posteriorly, pushing up against the palate to create pressure to propel the bolus. If the person has poor bolus formation, residue in the sulci, and/or spilla

There are changes that occur in swallow function that are associated with healthy aging that do not result in dysphagia. The swallow changes that are a result of aging: Laryngeal Penetration: Shallow laryngeal penetration, when material enters the laryngeal vestibule but does not reach the vocal folds, is a normal finding in all age groups. It’s more frequent at both ends of the lifespan, in infancy and in the elderly. Therefore, older adults will often have shallow laryngeal

The exact cause of a feeling of a lump in the throat, or globus sensation is basically unknown. Some specialists believe that it is due to a problem with the coordination of the muscles involved in swallowing. Many muscles are involved in swallowing and they need to tense and relax in the correct sequence for swallowing to occur normally. In someone with globus sensation, when they try to swallow saliva, some of the swallowing muscles may not relax fully and so there is a sen