Liuzijue Qigong vs traditional breathing training for patients with post-stroke dysarthria complicated with abnormal respiratory control: study protocol of a single center randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundStroke-induced dysarthria is caused by muscle weakness, sacral or muscular dystonia, and incoordination of the articulatory organ formed by organic lesions caused by cerebral vascular obstruction or sudden bursting of blood vessels in the brain, which may cause abnormal breathing patterns, pronunciation, resonance, rhythm, and unclear articulation.The Six Character Formula, or Liuzijue qigong (LQG), is an essential part of Chinese traditional exercises and focuses on breathing–speech synchronization. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of LQG with traditional breathing training (combined with basic articulation training in both groups) in patients with post-stroke dysarthria.Methods/designThe proposed study will be a single-center randomized controlled trial. A total of 100 patients, with a modified Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment (FDA) dysarthria assessment score < 27 and with a FDA speech breathing level ≥ b will be randomly divided into study (LQG, n = 50) and control (conventional breathing training, n = 50) groups. Basic articulation training will be conducted once a day, five times a week for 3 weeks. Data collection will be conducted at baseline, 1 week, and 2 weeks post-treatment initiation and after completion of the treatment (3 weeks). Comprehensive analyses will be conducted to measure and compare any differences in speech breathing dysfunction levels, comprehensive evaluation of dysarthria, maximum phonation time (MPT), maximal counting ability, signal-noise (S/Z) ratio, and loudness scales between the study and control groups.DiscussionThis trial will provide evidence about the effectiveness of LQG for improvement of speech breathing function and speech ability in patients with post-stroke dysarthria complicated with abnormal breathing.Trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-INR-16010215. Registered 21 December 2016.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2734-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Systematic Review of Measures of Dysarthria Severity in Stroke Patients

“…FDA‐2 was the most commonly used scale for dysarthric patients after stroke 8,20,23‐26 . Speech Intelligibility Test (SIT) 27 was used in four studies, 24,28‐30 and Communication Outcomes After Stroke Scale (COAST) 31 was used in three studies 25,32,33 .…”

Effectiveness of LiuZiJue Qigong versus traditional core stability training for poststroke patients complicated with abnormal trunk postural control: study protocol for a single-center randomized controlled trial

“…Through six words, different mouth parts, lips, teeth, throat, and tongue force differences can affect different visceral flows [13]. LQG requires the maintenance of an upright posture, relaxation of the neck, and the maintenance of normal positions of the thoracic spine and pelvis, which may provide a stable core mechanical environment for stroke patients to exercise correct breathing patterns [41]. Combined with bilateral body and trunk movements, noninvasive opening of the thoracic cavity and increasing the volume of the thorax may be beneficial for the movement of the diaphragm [15].…”

Effectiveness of Liu Zi Jue Qigong versus traditional core stability training for patients with post-stroke complicated with abnormal trunk postural control: a study protocol for a single-center randomized controlled trial

“…Through 6 words, different mouth types, lips, teeth, throat and tongue force differences can affect different viscera flows [14]. LQG requires the maintenance of an upright posture, relaxation of the neck, and the maintenance of normal positions of the thoracic, spinal and pelvis, which may provide a stable core mechanical environment for stroke patients to exercise correct breathing patterns [40]. Combined with bilateral body and trunk movements, non-invasive opening of the thoracic cavity and increasing the volume of the thorax, may be beneficial to the movement of the diaphragm [16].…”