SwallowingExercises.com

ISO Instructions: The ISO is designed to be part of a therapeutic program, under the supervision of a certified therapist and/or physician. For best results, exercises should be completed 2-3 times daily, six days per week. 

EXERCISE 1: THE HEAD NOD

Sit in a chair

Sit up very straight, with your ears directly over your shoulders and your chin slightly elevated

Place the ISO under your chin, with the red pad against your chest

Hold the ISO firmly in place by gripping the red handle

Gently press your chin straight down, as if you are nodding your head "yes"

Lift your head back up to the starting position

Repeat this "head nod" until the muscles in your throat feel fatigued.

EXERCISE 2: THE HEAD NOD HOLD

Sit in a chair

Sit up very straight, with your ears directly over your shoulders and your chin slightly elevated

Place the ISO under your chin, with the red pad against your chest

Hold the ISO firmly in place by gripping the red handle

Gently press your chin straight down, as if you are nodding your head "yes"

Hold this position for one minute (or until the muscles are fatigued)

Rest for 30 seconds and then repeat

EXERCISE 3: THE JAW PRESS

Sit in a chair

Sit up very straight, with your ears directly over your shoulders and your chin slightly elevated

Place the ISO under your chin, with the red pad against your chest

Hold the ISO firmly in place by gripping the red handle

Keep your head completely still and slowly open your mouth as wide as you can, by pressing your jaw down against the ISO while keeping your head still

Hold for 2 seconds, then slowly close your mouth

Repeat until the muscles of the jaw and/or throat feel fatigued

EXERCISE 4: THE JAW PRESS HOLD

Sit in a chair

Sit up very straight, with your ears directly over your shoulders and your chin slightly elevated

Place the ISO under your chin, with the red pad against your chest

Hold the ISO firmly in place by gripping the red handle

Keep your head completely still and slowly open your mouth as wide as you can, by pressing your jaw down against the ISO while keeping your head still

Hold your mouth in the wide open position for one minute (or until the muscles feel fatigued)

Rest for 30 seconds, then repeat

Tips:

If you need more resistance, raise the ISO slightly higher on your chest, so that it is partially depressed before beginning the exercise.

If you feel the muscle fatigue more in the back of your neck than in your throat, you need to keep your ears straight over your shoulders throughout the exercises. It is a very small head nod movement, so that the small muscles in the throat will be isolated to improve swallow and/or speech.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at: baselinetherapies@yahoo.com

Tongue Exercises

1. Press tongue into RIGHT cheek. Press against tongue in cheek with two fingers, applying equal resistance to the pressure of the tongue. Hold for 20-30 seconds, or until tongue is fatigued.

2. Press tongue into LEFT cheek. Press against tongue in cheek with two fingers, applying equal resistance to the pressure of the tongue. Hold for 20-30 seconds, or until tongue is fatigued.

3. Press tongue tip straight up against the hard palate. Push hard and hold for 20-30 seconds, or until tongue is fatigued.

4. Pull the back of the tongue as far back into your throat as you can and push it up against the soft palate at the same time, pushing your tongue up and back as far and hard as you can, and smile. Hold for 20-30 seconds, or until the tongue is fatigued.

5. Place ISO or hand under your chin and against your chest. Gently nod your head down, pressing against your hand or ISO device for resistance. Hold for 40-60 seconds, or until fatigued.

Repeat the cycle of all exercises 3x. Complete tongue exercises 2-3 times daily.

Laryngeal Elevation, Base of Tongue, and Vocal Cord Adduction Exercises:

The ISO can be used to intensify standard laryngeal elevation, base of tongue, vocal cord adduction exercises.

1.) Laryngeal Elevation: Begin with the Head Nod and Hold exercise described above. While holding the ISO down, sing a scale from the lowest note to the highest note you can sing. Hold out the highest note until you run out of breath. Continue to repeat this exercise 20-30 times or until your throat muscles feel fatigued.

2.) Base of Tongue Exercise: Begin with the Head Nod and Hold exercise. While holding the ISO down, say "ka ka ka ka" over and over until fatigued. Then, repeat and say, "king, king, king, king" until fatigued. Then, repeat and say "going, going, going, going" until fatigued.

3.) Vocal Cord Adduction: Begin with the Head Nod exercise as described above. Each time you press the ISO down, while in the contracted, pressing down position, say a number, starting with "1". Then, "2", and so on. Continue to hold the ISO pressed down until after you have completed saying the number out loud. You can also hold the vocalization of the number out for 5-10 seconds to intensify this exercise.