The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of symptom improvement, tongue muscles functional and tongue morphology after 12 weeks of oropharyngeal exercises training combined with mandible advancement device in OSA patients.
Twenty adult patients with OSA who had residual obstructive sleep apnea while using MAD were recruited and randomly allocated to either the oropharyngeal exercises group (OE, N=10) or the control group (CON, N=10). Polysomnography (PSG), sleep related questionnaires (Pittsburgh sleep quality index, PSQI; Epworth sleepiness scale, ESS), tongue muscle strength, endurance and tongue morphology (Tongue base thickness, TBT; were assessed before and after 12 weeks. The OE group will visit physical therapy twice a week for training and to adjust treatment intensity over a 12-week period. Additionally, participants will engage in home training lasting 30 minutes per session, performing 1-3 sessions daily, 3-5 days per week.
No significant improvements were observed in AHI (p=0.94), PSQI (p=0.27), or ESS (p=0.10) for both groups. However, the OE group showed a significant reduction in waist circumference (p=0.039) and snore index (p=0.03). Additionally, tongue strength (p0.01) and endurance (p0.01) increased in the OE group after 12 weeks of exercise. In terms of tongue morphology, significant changes were noted only in tongue width in the coronal plane under normal breathing (p=0.001) and Müller maneuver (p=0.04) conditions, while tongue base thickness (p0.01) and coronal plane thickness (p=0.03) were significantly change when wearing MAD.
Although there was no significant improvement in AHI, OE training enhanced the patients' snoring index and improved tongue strength and endurance.
OE training may reduce the symptoms of snoring and improve muscle strength and endurance combined with the treatment of MAD.
Mandibular advancement device
Oropharyngeal Exercises Training
