Speech-language therapists’ awareness of the use of orofacial myofunctional therapy as a treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea in Czechia

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnoea is an increasingly frequent lifestyle disease which affects both children and adults, affecting more than 10% of the adult population. The risk factors include unhealthy lifestyle, older age, structural and functional changes in the orofacial area as well as spinal cord injuries. Presently, there is no specific treatment of this disorder. One of the options for supportive treatment to alleviate the occurrence of apnoea during sleep is orofacial myofunctional therapy. The aim of the research presented in the article was to identify speech-language therapists’ awareness of the application of myofunctional therapy as a treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea and their awareness of the therapeutic methods in patients under supervision of a speech-language therapist. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the possibility of using myofunctional therapy among patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.