LAUSR

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repetitive narrowing and collapse of pharyngeal airway during sleep, leading to apnea or hypopnea. In this context, myofunctional therapy and myofascial release might be effective, despite the literature on the combination of these approaches is still scarce. OBJECTIVES This randomized controlled trial aimed to assess the efficacy of orofacial myofunctional therapy combined with myofascial release in terms of functioning in patients with mild OSA. METHODS Patients aged from 40 to 80 years with diagnosis of mild OSA were randomly allocated into intervention group (orofacial myofunctional therapy plus myofascial release) and control group (only orofacial myofunctional therapy). At the baseline (T0), after 4 weeks (T1), and after 8 weeks (T2), the following outcomes were assessed: apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), average oxygen saturation (SpO2 ), sleep time spent with oxygen saturation <90% (T90), snoring index, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS Out of the 60 patients enrolled, 28 (aged 61.46 ±8.74 years) complete the treatment in the intervention group and 24 (aged 60.42±6.61 years) in the control group. There were no significant differences in AHI between groups. A significant difference was reported for ΔT0-T1 SpO2 (p=0.01), T90 (p=0.030), ΔT0-T1 and ΔT0-T2 snoring index (p=0.026 and <0.001, respectively), and ΔT0-T1 and ΔT0-T2 Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (p=0.003 and <0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Taken together, a combination of orofacial myofunctional therapy and myofascial release showed a potential treatment for sleep quality in patients with mild OSA. Future studies are necessary to better investigate the role of these interventions in OSA patients.