Physiotherapy in Treatment of Oral Submucous Fibrosis Related Restricted Mouth Opening

BACKGROUND: Multiple treatment approaches including surgical and non surgical therapies have been tried to improve restricted mouth opening in Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF).AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy in improving mouth opening, tongue protrusion and cheek flexibility in patients with OSMF.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty eight OSMF patients were assigned into three groups by drawing chits. Group 1: patients receiving intralesional injections of dexamethasone and hyaluronidase; Group 2: patients receiving physiotherapy; Group 3: patients receiving both intralesional injections and physiotherapy. Mouth opening, tongue protrusion and cheek flexibility was assessed in all the patients before intervention and at different time intervals of 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks after treatment.RESULTS: Intragroup: In Group 2, the mean values of mouth opening, tongue protrusion and cheek flexibility were increased in time but were statistically insignificant. The mean values of mouth opening, tongue protrusion and cheek flexibility were markedly increased over a period of time in Group 3 and cheek flexibility was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.05).Intergroup: The mean differences of mouth opening, cheek flexibility and tongue protrusion was found to be maximum in group 3 and it was statistically significant (p=0.03) for tongue protrusion.CONCLUSION: Concurrent treatment with physiotherapy and intralesional injections was found to improve the mean mouth opening, tongue protrusion and cheek flexibility. Hence, physiotherapy can be used as an adjuvant treatment for OSMF as it is non invasive, more patient compliant and doesn’t require any financial resources

Age and Sex Differences in Orofacial Strength

This study explored age- and sex-related differences in orofacial strength. Healthy adult men (N = 88) and women (N = 83) participated in the study. Strength measures were obtained using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI). Anterior and posterior tongue elevation strength measures were obtained using a standard method. Tongue protrusion and lateralization, cheek compression, and lip compression measures utilized adaptors allowing the participant to exert pressure against the bulb in different orientations. Lip and cheek strength measures were greater for men than women, but tongue strength did not differ between sex groups. Strong correlations between age and strength were not observed. However, group comparisons revealed lower tongue protrusion and lateralization strength in the oldest participants. The oldest participants also exhibited lower anterior and posterior tongue elevation strength relative to the middle-age group. Cheek and lip compression strength demonstrated no age-related differences. The current study supplements and corroborates existing literature that shows that older adults demonstrate lower tongue strength than younger adults. Sex differences were noted such that men demonstrated greater lip and cheek strength but not tongue strength. These data add to the literature on normal orofacial strength, allowing for more informed interpretations of orofacial weakness in persons with dysphagia

Congressional Record - Readers Bite on Tongue-in-Cheek Article

Congressional Record - Readers Bite on Tongue-in-Cheek Articl

1x2\u3csup\u3e7\u3c/sup\u3e Cartoons about Science

A tongue-in-cheek look at the world of natural science.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pss_book/1002/thumbnail.jp

Elixir for the Elites

Professor Tobias offers the editorial board tongue-in-cheek advice in the matter of law review rankings

Quantifying Orofacial Muscle Stiffness Using Damped Oscillation

Muscle stiffness can reflect muscle tone, often presumed to be aberrant in persons with dysarthria. This exploratory study used the Myoton-3 to assess stiffness of the lateral tongue and mid-cheek in 10 participants with various neurologic disorders--primarily lower motor neuron (n = 6), primarily upper motor neuron (n = 4), and neurolsgically normal adults (n = 4). The Myoton delivered a 25-ms pulse perturbation to the surface of the structure of interest and sensed the response with an internal accelerometer. The resulting acceleration curve was used to determine frequency of oscillation and decrement of damping; stiffness was derived from the linear displacement of tissue perforce of the perturbation. Tongue stiffness was significantly lower for the LMN group than for the normal control group, consistent with the assumption that hypotonia accompanies flaccidity. Tongue stiffness did not differ for the UMN group, nor did cheek stiffness, oscillation frequency or decrement differ between any groups. These preliminary findings indicate that stiffness can be determined from the surface of the tongue and cheek, and may be indicative of low muscle tone in LMN lesions. Although methodologic challenges remain, this novel approach has the potential to quantify orofacial muscle stiffness and document potential changes in muscle tone with disease and treatment

The Things We Will Learn from LibQUAL+™

Unpublished ManuscriptReviews what the author believes will be the results of the use of LibQUAL+™. Only in part is the article tongue in cheek

Sarah Pappalardo: Tongue Firmly in Cheek

Profile of Sarah Pappalardo, co-founder of the satirical feminist website Reductress, talks about her time at DePaul as a double major in English and communication and working as a comedienne, in addition to the founding and running of Reductress

A Letter of Man: And what is \u27truth\u27?

Have you seen the letter making the rounds on the internet? It\u27s been tough not to see the letter in the past week or so. And it certainly is powerful and meaningful. Jordan Anderson has struck a chord with modern audiences nearly 150 years after he dictated a snide and sarcastic letter to his former master. Reading over the former slave\u27s word, it feels like he tailored his tone for the tongue-in-cheek, breezy style of the virtual world. [excerpt