TTE and Dysphagia in Anterior Cervical Surgery

Investigating the Role of Tracheal Traction Exercises (TTE) in Reducing Dysphagia Following Anterior Cervical Surgery

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02326116

Enrollment

150

Registered

2014-12-25

Start date

2014-11-30

Completion date

2023-12-21

Last updated

2025-04-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dysphagia

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if Tracheal Traction Exercises (TTE) performed prior to anterior cervical spine surgery can result in a decreased rate of dysphagia.

Interventions

OTHERTrachael Preparation Education

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE (Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 85 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Elective Anterior cervical spine surgery (C2-C7) for degenerative disc disease or myelopathy

Exclusion criteria

* More than four levels of fusion * Trauma or urgent cases of anterior cervical spine surgery * Prior anterior cervical spine surgery (a known risk factor for dysphagia), * Prior neck surgery (eg. Thyroidectomy) * Tumors * Infections * Neurological disorders that can predispose to dysphagia such as Parkinson's, Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA), Alzheimer's and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
SWAL-QOL	12 months	30% difference in dysphagia as quantified by the SWAL-QOL (validated measure of dysphagia)

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026