Instructions For Use
STEP 1 Preparing The Cylinder Load resistance tube into the stopper. Position the tube in the T-SIP cylinder and fill the cylinder. Each line represents ½ milliliter. Lightly secure stopper. The stopper does not need to be used but helps prevent spillage when T-SIP is used at bedside.
Put Resist Tube Through Stopper
Add Water To
T-SIP Cylinder
Secure stopper lightly
and move gauge to water level.
Use of the stopper is not necessary but
may be helpful to prevent spillage.
STEP 2 Teach An "Effortful Suck"
Instruct the patient in how to make an "effortful suck" using tight compression of the lips around the resist tube as well as a tightening of the tongue.
"Place the resist tube between your lips. Suck hard using your lips and a tense, tight tongue. Do not breathe through your nose when sipping. Remove the resist tube and
press your tongue tip firmly against the ridge behind your front teeth"
STEP 3 Teach An "Effortful Swallow"
Instruct the patient in how to make an "effortful swallow" by pressing firmly with the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge and swallowing hard squeezing both the muscles of the tongue as well as the throat.
"Press firmly with your tongue against the ridge behind your front teeth squeezing firmly the muscles of your tongue and throat as you make a hard swallow"
STEP 4 Take Baseline Measurements
Obtain and record baseline measurements with each resist tube. Each tube offers different levels of resistance.
Blue: Light
Orange: Moderate
Red: Strong
Calculate the average milliliters sipped from three trials with each resist tube and record on form. Consult the normative data. Begin with the resist tube in which the volumes are smaller than the norm. If all volumes are at norm, begin with the red tube.
STEP 5 Begin Swallowing Treatments
Traditional swallowing strategies can be incorporated into the exercises.
Once the patient sequentially completes the effortful suck, tongue press and effortful swallow, count the number of milliliters (each line is .5mL). Move the gauge to the water level. Record each trial. Repeat the sequence until the T-SIP is empty.
Once the bolus size sucked reaches the norm for the resist tube, advance to a more difficult resistance T-SIP tube.
For patients using the red resistance tube, increase the number of swallows per practice session.
TheraSIP works well with NMES!
PRACTICE 30 SWALLOWS 3 TIMES PER DAY OR AS PATIENT TOLERATES
