Dysphagia and Exercise Physiology
Clinical Implications of General Adaptation Syndrome, Mitohormesis, and Detraining in Speech-Language Rehabilitation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.2026v38i2e75399Keywords:
Dysphagia, General Adaptation Syndrome, Hormesis, Rehabilitation of Speech and Language Disorders, Rehabilitation ResearchAbstract
Introduction: Speech-language pathology has widely employed muscle exercises in dysphagia rehabilitation for more than 30 years; however, these interventions are not always grounded in consolidated principles of exercise physiology. This study aims to examine and integrate core concepts from this field in order to support evidence-based practices in swallowing rehabilitation, with emphasis on mechanisms of muscle adaptation at both physiological and molecular levels, including the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), hormesis/mitohormesis, and detraining. Description: This is a narrative, exploratory, and conceptual review based on searches conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, LILACS, SciELO, and Google Scholar. The analysis revealed a scarcity of studies directly integrating exercise physiology principles, GAS, hormesis, and detraining into speech-language pathology approaches to dysphagia rehabilitation. In light of this gap, the manuscript articulates evidence from exercise physiology and related fields to discuss how repeated therapeutic stimuli may transiently disrupt homeostasis and trigger adaptive responses in the muscles involved in swallowing. The alarm, resistance, and exhaustion phases of GAS are addressed, as well as the effects of controlled stressors on protective and supercompensatory cellular mechanisms, the role of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial biogenesis, and the repercussions of detraining. In addition, the principles of biological individuality, specificity, progressive overload, and reversibility are discussed as applied to therapeutic dosing. Conclusion: Incorporating these concepts strengthens clinical reasoning in speech-language pathology, improves exercise dosing and progression, and supports safer, more effective, and more sustainable interventions, especially in patients with low functional reserve.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Guilherme Maia Zica, Leonardo Coelho Rabello de Lima, Maria Inês Rebelo Gonçalves
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
