On this episode, Theresa sits down with Dr. Diane Longnecker, Assistant Professor at Baylor University and clinical researcher at Baylor Scott and White, and Jamie Anderson, medical SLP and clinical instructor at the University of South Florida, to talk about something a lot of clinicians have heard of but aren't quite sure what to do with: pharyngeal manometry. Jamie starts with a confession most of us can probably relate to — she rolled her eyes at it when she first heard about it. Now she can't imagine practicing without it. Dr. Longnecker walks us through why she started using it clinically back in 2019, what her very first case taught her about the limits of visual interpretation, and why she no longer sends a patient for UES management without it. They break down what pharyngeal manometry actually tells you that your modified barium swallow study and FEES simply can't, which patients belong in the referral pool, what the barriers to starting a program actually look like (reimbursement, analysis time, catheter placement), and why someone in this field needs to take ownership of the UES. If you've been curious about this tool but didn't know where to start, this conversation is a genuinely helpful place to begin.

Get the show notes and references: https://syppodcast.com/394

The post 394 – Pressure, Pumps, and the UES:The Case for Pharyngeal Manometry in Clinical Practice appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.

On this episode, Theresa sits down with Dr. Julie Cichero, a clinician, researcher, and one of the foremost experts in dysphagia with over 30 years of experience, to talk about something that has had a complicated reputation in our field: cervical auscultation. If you trained in the 90s, you probably learned it. If you trained more recently, you might have been told to ignore it. The truth, as it turns out, is a lot more nuanced than either camp wants to admit.

Dr. Cichero breaks down what the evidence actually shows, including sensitivities of around 91% and negative predictive values that should genuinely change how we think about using this tool at the bedside. She explains why it's not really about the "clink and clunk" sounds at all, and why the breathing pattern after the swallow is where the real clinical information lives. She also shares what proper training looks like, how cervical auscultation fits alongside instrumental assessment (not instead of it), and two clinical stories involving pharyngeal pouches that are honestly pretty wild.

Get the show notes and references here: https://syppodcast.com/393

The post 393 – Clinks, Clunks, and Clinical Confidence: Rethinking Cervical Auscultation – Julie Cichero BA, BSpThy(Hons), PhD appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.

On this episode of Swallow Your Pride, Theresa sits down with Ally Roberts, M.S., CCC-SLP, to talk about dysphagia management, patient-centered care, and the story behind Naturally Nectar. Ally shares what years in acute care, inpatient rehab, and outpatient swallow studies taught her about thickened liquids, clinical nuance, and the importance of listening to what patients actually want. They also get into the process of building a product for people with dysphagia that prioritizes dignity, nutrition, and real-world usability.

Get the references here: https://syppodcast.com/392
Website: https://naturallynectar.org

The post 392 – The Surprising Truth About Thickened Liquids: What Patients Really Want with Naturally Nectar appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.