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CompletedNCT06186687Updated Jan 5, 2024

Rehabilitative Approaches: Myofunctional Therapy and Retropalatal Narrowing and Snoring

An interventional study of Myofunctional therapy exercise in Snoring and Pharyngeal Collapse, sponsored by Universitas Padjadjaran. Completed at 1 site in Indonesia. Open to male participants aged 20 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-01-05.

Sponsored by Universitas Padjadjaran · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 3 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Sep 2022, registered Dec 2023).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
17
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
20 Years to 65 Years
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

Sleep is an important activity and snoring is the most often reported complaint. Snoring is also very common in the general population. Moreover, snoring can negatively impact bed companions' quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness, strain of relationships, social embarrassment and disturb mental health that in the end will reduce quality of life. Anatomical risk factors are believed to be one of major contributors to upper airway constriction during sleep. Treatment for this condition include lifestyle modifications (such as quitting alcohol or losing weight), positional therapy, mandibular advancement devices, upper airway surgery, and nasal continuous positive airway pressure. Myofunctional therapy (MT) as an adjunctive or alternative therapy can lower Apnea-Hypopnea Index in obstructive sleep apnea patients with pharyngeal dilator muscle collapse. Although these may be beneficial, the impact of MT on retropalatal narrowing as one of the snoring causes needs to be better established. This study was done to find out the impact of MT in people with snoring who have a collapsed pharynx that is located by a Flexible nasolaryngoscopy.

Read the detailed description

Sleep is an important activity; it makes up one-third of a person's life, and in sleep medicine clinics, snoring is the most often reported complaint. Snoring is also very common in the general population. Studies indicate that women have a higher incidence of this condition above 65 years, increasing after menopause, while men experience it between 45 and 64 years of age. While snoring may be a predictor of the more serious condition of obstructive sleep apnea, primary snoring is common. Moreover, snoring can negatively impact bed companions' quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness, strain of relationships, social embarrassment and disturb mental health that in the end will reduce quality of life. Anatomical risk factors are believed to be one of major contributors to upper airway constriction during sleep. Pharyngeal narrowing can be facilitated by anatomic characteristics such as a large neck circumference, soft tissue, bone, or arteries. Flexible nasolaryngoscopy (FN) is an alternative diagnosis to direct viewing of the airway, from the nasal cavity to the larynx area. Aside from being easier to perform and more affordable, a complete examination of the airway can identify the location of the pharyngeal narrowing that causes obstruction more specifically. Treatment for this condition include lifestyle modifications (such as quitting alcohol or losing weight), positional therapy, mandibular advancement devices, upper airway surgery, and nasal continuous positive airway pressure are among the treatments for treating snoring. Myofunctional therapy (MT) as an adjunctive or alternative therapy can lower Apnea-Hypopnea Index in obstructive sleep apnea patients with pharyngeal dilator muscle collapse. The exercises are non-invasive, cost-effective, and have physiological characteristics. Improvement in upper airway obstruction is supported by improvements in upper airway muscle tone. Although these may be beneficial, the impact of MT on retropalatal narrowing as one of the snoring causes needs to be better established. This study was done to find out the impact of MT in people with snoring who have a collapsed pharynx that is located by a FN.

02

Conditions studied

  • Snoring
  • Pharyngeal Collapse

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Keywords

  • Myofunctional therapy exercise
  • pharyngeal area collapse
  • snoring
03

In context

Snoring

122 studies on the registry are indexed under Snoring; 15 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 17 is below the median of 43 across 95 interventional studies indexed under Snoring.

Browse Snoring studies →

Lead sponsor

Universitas Padjadjaran is the lead sponsor of 93 studies on the registry; 23 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • high risk of OSA (STOP-Bang questionnaire ≥ 3 and Berlin Questionnaire score positive in ≥ 2 category)
  • Already diagnosed by an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist as having risk of obstructive sleep apnea based on the questionnaire and FN study that showed pharyngeal muscle collapse in the pharyngeal area (velopharyngeal area/retropalatal)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of lung disease,
  • craniofacial anatomy abnormalities,
  • consuming drugs with sedative effects, alcohol, anti-depressants, or anti-anxiety groups in the last 3 months before
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
17 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Myofunctional Therapy Exercise

    Seventeen patients whom already diagnosed by an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist as having risk of obstructive sleep apnea based on the questionnaire and FN study that showed pharyngeal muscle collapse in the pharyngeal area (velopharyngeal area/retropalatal), performed MT two times per day for 20 minutes every day for six weeks. Exercises were performed at home with monitoring by the exercise log book, submitting a clear video of each exercise, and being evaluated once a week by the doctor. Patient compliance was classified as good if the patient performed \>75% of the exercises weekly. This study evaluated the velopharynx/retropalatal area (with FN), symptoms of daytime sleepiness with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaire, and snoring intensity and frequency taken from the Berlin questionnaire that were filled out before and after undergoing training for 6 weeks.

    Behavioral: Myofunctional therapy exercise

Interventions

  • BehavioralMyofunctional therapy exercise

    Myofunctional therapy involves various exercises to train muscles in the soft palate, tongue, face, and pharynx. Vocal letters are used to train the palatopharyngeus, palatoglossus, uvula, tensor veli palatine, and levator veli palatine muscles. Tongue exercises involve sliding the tongue to the upper and side surfaces of the teeth, placing the tip in front of the palate, and pressing and sucking the tongue up to the palate. Face exercises involve inflating the cheeks, gargling, and sucking the cheeks to exercise the orbicularis oris muscle and the buccinator muscle. Icing stimulates the mouth, producing a cold, chilling, and numbing effect, causing reflexive contraction of the palate, tongue, and pharyngeal muscles.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Widening of retropalatal area

    The retropalatal area was evaluated with flexible nasolaryngoscopy before and after 6 weeks of myofunctional therapy exercise.

    Time frame: 6 weeks

  2. Symptoms of daytime sleepiness

    Symptoms of daytime sleepiness was evaluated with Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score before and after 6 weeks of myofunctional therapy exercise. The minimum values of the socre is 0 and the maximum value is 24. The higher the ESS score, the higher their 'daytime sleepiness', which gives a worse outcome.

    Time frame: 6 weeks

  3. Snoring intensity and frequency

    Snoring intensity and frequency evaluation were taken from the Berlin questionnaire before and after 6 weeks of myofunctional therapy exercise.

    Time frame: 6 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Hasan Sadikin General Hospital
    Bandung, Jawa Barat 40161, Indonesia
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Sep 2022 to primary completion in Feb 2023, 5 months.

Of 33 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Snoring, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 31. This study's 5 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 45 studies reached it within 20 months; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 31.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Dec 15, 2023
First posted
Jan 2, 2024
StartActual
Sep 1, 2022
Primary completionActual
Feb 28, 2023
CompletionActual
Feb 28, 2023
Last update
Jan 5, 2024
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 5, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06186687
Lead sponsor
Universitas Padjadjaran
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 2, 2024
Start date
Sep 1, 2022
Primary completion
Feb 28, 2023
Completion
Feb 28, 2023
Last update
Jan 5, 2024

Study contacts

Vitriana Biben, Dr; MD
principal investigator · Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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