PURPOSE: To verify the efficacy of myofunctional intervention on the sucking function of infants with Down syndrome using the surface electromyography. METHODS: Five male and three female infants with ages from six to ten months were paired in a study and a control groups, which were differentiated only by the diagnosis of Down syndrome. The research was carried out in three phases: a) initial assessment (clinical evaluation of the stomatognathic system and surface electromyography - tasks of habitual rest, bottle sucking and taking puree from the spoon); b) therapeutic process; c) reassessment. The control group participated only in the first and third stages. RESULTS: The electromyographic data showed a significant difference between habitual rest and bottle/puree tasks. In the habitual rest, fewer motor units are recruited, in comparison to the other muscle movements. CONCLUSION: The surface electromyography didn't allow the identification of differences between the contractions of the mouth orbicular muscle before and after the intervention, neither between the studied groups, once the movements didn't recruit enough motor units to detect the expected differences. However, the clinical evaluation did show an improvement of the assessed aspects.
Electromyography; Down's syndrome; Infant; Sucking behavior
