Posture, Tongue Position and Pronunciation

NCT07650734 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 237/26
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Background: The main speech organ that affects the pronunciation of the various vowels is the tongue. The relationships between posture and voice, and between the position of the tongue at rest and posture, have been proven, but the relationship between pronunciation and posture has not yet been proven. The rationale for examining this relationship is that the imbalance and differing loads in poor neck and head posture cause different muscular arrangements of the muscles that support the jaw, tongue, and neck, which will thus affect pronunciation. Objectives: To examine the relationship between posture, tongue position, and the correct pronunciation in subjects with and without pronunciation disorders. In addition, to examine the effect of a muscle strengthening program on these characteristics. Methods: The study will include two parts. The first part will be a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire to examine speech therapists' perceptions of the relationship and importance of posture and pronunciation. The second part will include a prospective interventional clinical study to examine the relationship between tongue position at rest and pronunciation, posture, and muscle strength. In addition, the effect of adding muscle-strengthening training to conventional pronunciation therapy on the process of acquiring correct pronunciation will be examined.

Conditions

Speech Dysfunction

Keywords

pronunciation; posture; muscles; strength; tongue

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Treatment success

  number of treatments until good pronunciation is achieved

  at completion of intervention - up to 10 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• neck muscle strength

  baseline, at completion of intervention - - up to 10 weeks

• Tongue strength

  base line, at completion of intervention - - up to 10 weeks

• Jaw closing strength

  base line, at completion of intervention- - up to 10 weeks

• Tongue thickness

  base line, at completion of intervention- - up to 10 weeks

Study Arms (3)

excercise

EXPERIMENTAL

will receive speech therapy treatment and, in addition, exercises for the neck and upper extremities.

Other: speech therapy treatment and strengthening exercise

Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

will receive regular speech therapy treatment according to their disorder

Other: speech therapy treatment

healthy control

NO INTERVENTION

healthy control for baseline comparison, no treatment

Interventions

speech therapy treatment OTHER

regular treatment to enhance good pronunciation

Control

speech therapy treatment and strengthening exercise OTHER

speech therapy treatment and strengthening exercise

excercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 15 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• People with normal hearing
• with and without pronunciation disorders

You may not qualify if:

• Children and teenagers who study in special education settings,
• children and teenagers with phonological disorders at the prosodic or segmental level,
• children and teenagers whose parents are under the impression that they do not hear well.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Haifa: lead

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Speech Therapy

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Rehabilitation of Speech and Language Disorders; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Patient Care; Therapeutics

Central Study Contacts

Gali Dar, PhD

CONTACT

+972505662054; gdar@univ.haifa.ac.il

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof.

Model Details: Prospective interventional clinical study with participants with and without pronunciation disorders. Baseline examination will include all participants. Following, the study group (with pronunciation disorder) will be divided into 2 groups: the intervention group will receive an exercise program to strengthen the neck and upper-limb muscles in addition to regular speech therapy treatments. The control group will receive the regular speech therapy treatments. The evaluation measures will be reviewed again at the end of the treatment series (up to 10 treatments).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 3, 2026
• First Posted: June 16, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2028
• Last Updated: June 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share