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[For Older Adults] Choking-Prevention Training: Boost Chewing and Swallowing Strength to Prevent Aspiration
Do you ever find yourself coughing unexpectedly while eating? To keep enjoying meals for years to come, it’s important to maintain your swallowing ability.
In this article, we introduce easy, cough-prevention training exercises that older adults can try casually.
From movements that strengthen the neck and throat muscles to fun tongue twisters that get the mouth moving, there are plenty of ideas you can continue without strain.
Actively moving your mouth also stimulates saliva production, which leads to smoother swallowing.
Take it at your own pace and use these tips to support a healthy, pleasant mealtime every day!
[For Seniors] Coughing/Choking Prevention Training: Improve Chewing and Swallowing Strength to Prevent Aspiration (1–10)
5-minute oral exercisesNEW!
This is a training routine that helps prevent aspiration and choking, which often occur in older adults.
First, rotate your neck to stretch, then to strengthen the area around your mouth and inside the mouth, move your mouth deliberately while pronouncing “aaah” and “eeeh.” Next, puff out your cheeks and move your tongue.
Once you’ve finished everything, move on to the Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra swallowing exercises.
This exercise involves saying the four syllables “pa,” “ta,” “ka,” and “ra” out loud to strengthen the tongue and throat.
Start by saying “pa” five times in a row, then repeat it faster after you finish.
Do the same for the remaining syllables.
At-home throat trainingNEW!
Throat decline doesn’t only make it harder to speak; it can also affect swallowing and lead to choking incidents.
To help reduce the risk even a little, here are some simple exercises you can do daily.
First, inhale for three seconds and exhale.
Next, consciously engage the muscles around your mouth and cheeks and move your mouth widely while saying “u” and “i.” Then continue with sticking out your tongue, varying your pitch, and swallowing a small amount of water.
These simple exercises are suitable for anyone, so please give them a try if you like.
Tongue training at homeNEW!
Let me introduce some training to strengthen your tongue muscles and prevent accidental swallowing.
Start with sticking your tongue in and out, pronouncing “ra,” circling your tongue around the inside of your closed mouth, and pressing against your cheeks.
In the next stage, move on to actions many of us often did as children, like clicking your tongue and rolling your R’s.
As you get older, you may find that rolling your R’s is surprisingly difficult.
But if you practice every day, you’ll be able to do it, so don’t give up.
It’s an area where it’s easy to miss signs of decline, so take this opportunity to learn it well and train consistently.
Chewing Chewing 100-Year-Old GymnasticsNEW!
These are exercises to help you chew well with your own teeth and enjoy meals up to age 100.
Start with deep breathing, then tilt your head forward, back, left, and right.
After that, gently lean your shoulders to each side to stretch.
From here, begin moving your mouth.
First, say “A” and “N,” moving your mouth clearly as you voice the sounds.
Then add “I” and “E.” Next, with your mouth closed, trace the inside of your mouth with your tongue.
Massage in front of your ears and under your jaw to stimulate the salivary glands.
After pronouncing “pa-ta-ka-ra” in sequence, swallow your saliva to train your swallowing ability, and you’re done.
Gokkun trainingNEW!
Swallowing is something we could do without thinking when we were younger.
However, many people feel that as they get older, they cough or aspirate more often.
Because there’s also a risk of choking, if you feel you can’t swallow well, try “gokkun” training.
Prepare some water, then practice swallowing while checking your tongue position and by varying the amount you swallow.
Simply performing the act of swallowing with awareness becomes training.
Let’s improve your swallowing ability and enjoy meals safely.
Throat muscle training with a ballNEW!
Prepare a soft, elastic ball.
First, place the ball between your chin and around your collarbone, and pull your chin in firmly for about 5 seconds as if to hold the ball securely in place.
Do not hold your breath during this.
Take a good breath in before pulling your chin in, then exhale during the 5 seconds while holding the chin tuck.
Do this for about 10 sets.
If you have heart disease, high blood pressure, or pain around your neck, please consult a doctor before trying this.
Swallowing training with a blowout toyNEW!
Some of you may have played with them as children.
The party blowouts that are familiar as toys are perfect items for swallowing training.
Products are available as sets with different levels of resistance, so be sure to make use of them.
The easier ones can be done with just enough breath to move a tissue, while the more difficult ones require enough breath to blow out all the candles on a birthday cake without any trouble.
Choose a resistance level that suits the older adult’s condition, and have them train with it!