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Oropharyngeal Exercises to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

NCT05678088 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 45

Last updated 2026-04-24

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this study is to determine whether a randomized controlled trial using oropharyngeal exercises to treat sleep apnea is feasible. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard therapy for Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but it is poorly tolerated by many patients. Oropharyngeal exercises (OPEs) which are commonly used by speech-language pathologists to improve oro-motor strength, may serve as a promising alternative approach. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

* Is it feasible to use an oropharyngeal exercise protocol in patients with sleep apnea?
* Will oropharyngeal exercises improve sleep apnea severity, daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, mood, workplace performance, and quality of life

Participants will be randomized into a supervised OPE intervention arm vs. unsupervised OPE intervention arm vs. sham treatment for a 10-week/5-day per week/two 20-minute session exercise protocol. The exercises will be administered via an app and the investigators will assess feasibility, as well as several sleep-related and oro-motor physiological outcomes before treatment, immediately post-treatment, and 4 weeks post-treatment. The investigators will use the results of this feasibility trial to inform the sample size needed for a larger clinical trial that will determine the efficacy of using oropharyngeal exercises to treat OSA.

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Oropharyngeal Exercises

The participant will practice exercises designed to strengthen the tongue and pharyngeal muscles

BEHAVIORAL

Sham Exercises

The participant will practice exercises that have no impact on oropharyngeal (e.g., base of the tongue) muscle strength.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Mark Boulos, MD, MSc · Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-03-28
Primary Completion
2026-12-31
Completion
2027-03-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05678088 on ClinicalTrials.gov