Immediate Effects of Electrical Stimulation on Oropharyngeal Structure and Laryngeal Vestibular Closure: A Pilot Study in Healthy Subjects.

Objectives: This study examined the immediate effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on the dynamics of oropharyngeal structure and laryngeal vestibular closure (LVC) in healthy subjects.

Methods: Ten healthy male volunteers participated in this controlled, before-and-after, videofluoroscopic swallowing pilot study. The study was conducted in four phases (each performed twice): (1) saliva swallow (SS) before evaluation (BEFORE), (2) NMES while at rest with no SS (NMES AT REST), (3) SS during NMES (DURING NMES), and (4) SS to examine the aftereffects of NMES (AFTER).