Respiratory Muscle Training

Conditions Treated
Respiratory muscle training can help strengthen breathing, swallowing, and speech muscles affected by many conditions and treatments, including: 

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Cardiothoracic surgery
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Head and neck cancers
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Obstructive sleep apnea 
• Spinal cord injury 
• Stroke

Respiratory muscle training can also help improve breathing after a tracheostomy placement and, in some cases, can help wean ventilator support.

Personalized Treatment Plans
Our speech pathologists evaluate your condition and design a treatment plan that’s right for you. When appropriate, we can combine respiratory muscle training with traditional communication and swallowing therapies to ensure we provide you with the most complete care for your condition.

Evaluations of your speech and/or swallowing will help determine whether respiratory muscle training is the right treatment for you. Evaluations may include:

Comprehensive Communication Evaluation
Speech, language, and cognition are tested with a physical examination, questionnaires, practical and functional information gathering, and standardized testing based on your individual needs.

Respiratory Pressure Manometry
Maximum inspiratory (breathing in) and expiratory (breathing out) pressures are tested by effortfully blowing and sucking into a handheld device.

Clinical Swallow Evaluation
Your provider will ask about your medical history as it relates to difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), learn more about your symptoms, and observe you swallowing foods and liquids.

Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing
A flexible endoscope (a small camera with a light) is passed through your nose to your throat. You will swallow dyed foods and liquids while the camera is in place to show whether any food or drink enters your airway.

Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study (VFSS) or Modified Barium Swallow (MBS)
A speech-language pathologist and a radiologist administer this test to evaluate your swallowing function. Moving X-ray images of the mouth, throat, and esophagus are recorded while you try different swallowing positions and swallow a chalky liquid containing barium – a substance that makes your throat structures show up more clearly on an X-ray.