VitalStim® Therapy, Found More Effective Than Traditional Dysphagia Treatment

Filed in archive Diagnostics , Studies , Treatment on November 16, 2006

Dysphagia is a swallowing disorder affecting 15 million Americans.

VitalStim® Therapy has recently been proven by an independent research study to be superior to traditional therapies for the treatment of dysphagia.

VitalStim® Therapy is a painless USFDA-approved therapy for dysphagia that utilizes small electrical currents to stimulate the muscles responsible for swallowing.

According to the study authors:

"The results of our retrospective case control study suggest that dysphagia therapy with electrical stimulation is superior to traditional dysphagia therapy alone in individuals in a long-term acute care facility.

Individuals receiving ES [VitalStim® Therapy] required fewer treatment sessions and displayed a trend toward a shorter length of hospitalization than persons receiving traditional dysphagia therapy."

This finding have initially been presented by Peter C. Belafsky, MD, PhD of the Center for Voice and Swallowing (UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA) at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery last September and reported in the November 2006 issue of the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Find more details from the press release and click here for more information on dysphagia and VitalStim® Therapy.