Effects of Conventional Speech Therapy with Liuzijue Qigong, a Traditional Chinese Method of Breath Training, in 70 Patients with Post-Stroke Spastic Dysarthria

Author: Jiayi Xia1, Song Pei2,3, Zhu Chen1, Lin Wang1, Jun Hu1, Jian Wang2
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Research Service Office, The Second Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, China (mainland). <sup>2</sup> School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China (mainland). <sup>3</sup> Department of Rehabilitation, Renhe Hospital of Baoshan District, Shanghai, China (mainland).
Conference/Journal: Med Sci Monit
Date published: 2023 Jun 27
Other: Volume ID: 29 , Pages: e939623 , Special Notes: doi: 10.12659/MSM.939623. , Word Count: 219


BACKGROUND Post-stroke spastic dysarthria (PSSD) is a motor speech impairment that impacts patient communication and quality of life. Liuzijue Qigong (LQG), a traditional Chinese method of breath training, could serve as an effective treatment for PSSD. This study compared the effects of conventional speech therapy and conventional speech therapy combined with LQG in patients with PSSD. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventy patients with PSSD were randomly divided into a control group (conventional speech therapy, n=35, 77.14% cerebral infarction, 22.86% cerebral hemorrhage) and experimental group (LQG combined with conventional speech therapy, n=35, 85.71% cerebral infarction, 14.29% cerebral hemorrhage). Conventional speech therapy included relaxation, breath control, organ articulation, and pronunciation training. LQG involved producing 6 different sounds (Xu, He, Hu, Si, Chui, and Xi) accompanied by breathing and body movements. Patients were treated once a day, 5 times a week, for 4 weeks. The Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment scale (FDA), speech articulation, maximum phonation time (MPT), loudness, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) were evaluated. RESULTS At 4 weeks, the experimental group showed significant improvements compared with the control group in the change of FDA (13.26±6.84 vs 18.03±5.32, P=0.028), speech articulation (63.17±22.40 vs 76.51±15.28, P=0.024), MPT (1.34±1.30 vs 3.89±3.98, P<0.001), loudness (3.46±2.74 vs 7.14±2.56, P=0.009), MoCA (19.40±3.72 vs 22.20±5.30, P=0.020), total effective rate (68.57% vs 88.57%, P=0.041). CONCLUSIONS LQG, when combined with conventional speech therapy, enhanced the comprehensive speech ability of patients with PSSD compared with conventional treatment alone.


PMID: 37365796 DOI: 10.12659/MSM.939623