The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the jaw opening exercise (JOE) on the thickness of the suprahyoid muscle and hyoid bone movement compared with the head lift exercise (HLE) in patients with dysphagia after stroke. This study recruited 30 patients with dysphagia after stroke. The JOE group performed a JOE using a resistance bar. The HLE group performed the traditional HLE. The total intervention duration was 6 weeks. We measured the thickness of the digastric and mylohyoid muscles using ultrasound. Two-dimensional motion analysis of the hyoid bone was performed using Image J software. The Borg rating of the perceived exertion scale was used to assess the intensity level of physical activity during the 2 exercises. Both groups showed a significant increase in the thickness of the digastric and mylohyoid muscles (p < 0.05). Hyoid bone motion was significantly increased in the anterior and superior movement in both groups (p < 0.05). After the intervention, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. The Borg rating of perceived exertion scale for the JOE group was significantly lower than that of the HLE group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the JOE and the HLE had similar effects with respect to increasing suprahyoid muscle thickness and improving hyoid bone movement. However, the JOE required less perceived exertion than the HLE.

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