Correlation between tongue pressure and electrical activity of the suprahyoid muscles

Objective: to investigate the correlation between the tongue pressure and the electrical activity of the suprahyoid muscles. Methods: a across-sectional, observational and analytical study conducted with 15 men and 22 women. Each participant underwent simultaneous assessment of maximal tongue pressure through the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) and the surface electromyography of the suprahyoid muscles. They were asked to press the tongue against the hard palate in the anterior and posterior region, with and without IOPI. The adopted significance level of the performed analyses was 5%. Results: there was a moderate and significant correlation only between suprahyoid electrical activity and tongue pressure in the posterior region. It was verified that the measured electrical potentials, when using the IOPI, were greater in the tasks of anterior pressure than in the tasks of the posterior one, bilaterally. Without using the IOPI, the electrical potentials were greater in the posterior pressure than in the anterior one, bilaterally. Finally, the values of lingual pressure were compared with the bulb positioned in the anterior and posterior parts, and the anterior tongue pressure was higher. Conclusion: there was a moderate correlation between tongue pressure and electrical potential of the suprahyoid muscles, researched by the surface electromyography, only when performing activities with the posterior portion of the tongue.