Effects of tongue position and lung volume on voluntary maximal tongue protrusion force in humans.

Maximal voluntary protrusion force of the human tongue has not been examined in positions beyond the incisors or at different lung volumes. Tongue force was recorded with the tongue tip at eight positions relative to the incisors (12 and 4mm protrusion, neutral and 4, 12, 16, 24 and 32mm retraction) at functional residual capacity (FRC), total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV) in 15 healthy subjects. Maximal force occurred between 12mm and 32mm retraction (median 16mm). Maximum force at FRC was reproducible at the optimal tongue position across sessions (P=0.68). Across all positions at FRC the average force was highest at 24mm retraction (28.3±5.3N, mean±95% CI) and lowest at 12mm protrusion (49.1±4.6% maximum; P<0.05). Across all tongue positions, maximal force was on average 9.3% lower at FRC than TLC and RV (range: 4.5-12.7% maximum, P<0.05). Retracted positions produce higher-force protrusions with a small effect of lung volume.