One challenge in dysphagia rehabilitation is the complexity of swallowing itself. Swallowing involves a series of intricate muscle movements and coordination, and it can be challenging for individuals with dysphagia to gain optimal control. Principles of motor learning can greatly enhance dysphagia rehabilitation by providing a systematic framework for optimising the (re-) learning process and improving […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

A clinical setting that we have not yet covered in this podcast is the intensive care unit (ICU). We were very lucky to have Sarah Wallace OBE as our guest, as she brings a lot of expertise from working clinically as an SLT in critical care as well as conducting research in this field. In

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In dysphagia management we often think about how our patients can swallow food and liquids the safest and most efficient way and what consistencies are best suited for them. But what about nutritional and hydration needs in people with dysphagia? In this episode we speak to Prof. Rainer Wirth about different nutritional and hydration requirements

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Dear English speaking listeners: This episode is in German. Es wurde Zeit für eine neue Folge auf Deutsch! Während der diesjährigen Tagung der deutschen Gesellschaft für Dysphagie (DGD) in Köln haben wir mit Prof. Stefanie Duchac über die videofluoroskopische Untersuchung des Schluckens (VFSS) gesprochen.  Sie gibt einen Überblick über die technischen Fragen, erklärt die Relevanz

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ultrasound is an emerging tool for the assessment of swallowing and treatment of dysphagia. But how can SLTs actually make use of it? And what does it add to our toolbox? To learn more about this new approach, we invited Jodi Allen. She explains what we can do with an ultrasound assessment, where its boundaries

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Do you use oral trials in dysphagia management? Do you know what the current evidence base is? In short: oral trials are recommended frequently as a rehabilitation approach in clinical practice, but the evidence base to support it is scarce. So, how exactly do we apply oral trials as a dysphagia intervention? Which patients are

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Our guest in this episode is Dr. Órla Gilheaney. Not only is she a clinician, lecturer and researcher working in the field of invisible conditions such as fibromyalgia, but she is also a person living with fibromyalgia herself.  Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that can cause various symptoms such as widespread pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Bodhi is now 3 years old. When he was about 6 weeks, his parents first noticed something was different. They now know that Bodhi has severe dysphagia but still don’t know the underlying cause. Bodhi’s mum Kelly talks about the different assessments Bodhi went through, the diagnoses he was given, the lack of awareness of

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

How do we know what outcomes to measure and when to measure them when designing clinical trials? And how can we make studies more comparable, so that researchers measure the same outcomes with the same assessment at the same time points? One solution is the development and application of Core Outcome Sets (COS). Dr. Sarah

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Coughing and swallowing are two important functions, both providing airway protection and therefore being essential for survival. However, as students and clinicians we usually learn a lot more about swallowing than about coughing. And often, evaluating the cough function in the dysphagia assessment goes down with simply asking the patient to cough and subjectively assessing

Podcast: Play in new window | Download