Abstract
Placing patients in a reclining position is thought to be a compensatory method to improve swallowing difficulties. The anatomical alignment between the airway and esophageal position in the reclining position reduces the possibility of aspiration, and this may be advantageous in patients with delayed swallowing reflex. Therefore, it is used for most patients with dysphagia ; however, no study has yet compared the delay of the swallowing reflex with the inflow of the alimentary bolus and the effectiveness of the reclining position for such patients. The parameter laryngeal elevation delay time (LEDT) was used to clarify the efficacy of the reclining position. The LEDT is significantly extended in liquid deglutition in comparison to jelly deglutition. The LEDT was increased in the reclining position in swallowing liquid with low viscosity. The risk of aspiration will become higher because this tendency is greater in patients with poor elicitation of pharyngeal swallowing, and attention should be paid to such patients in the reclining position. In contrast, the transfer from oral cavity to the pharynx became smoother with the deglutition of solid material such as jelly in patients that had difficulty in the oral stage. Therefore, the reclining position may be effective only in the swallowing of material with a slow inflow velocity into the pharynx.
