Article: Chinstrap alone can treat Sleep Apnea

Treatment of Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome with a Chinstrap

Robert D. Vorona, M.D.,1 J. Catesby Ware, Ph.D.,1 John T. Sinacori, M.D.,2 Melvin L. Ford, III, D.D.S.,2 and J. Parker Cross, M.D.3
1Division of Sleep Medicine
2Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
3Department of Otolaryngology; Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
Address correspondence to: Robert Daniel Vorona, M.D., EVMS/SNGH Sleep Disorders Center, 600 Gresham Drive, Norfolk, VA 23507Phone: (757) 388-3322Fax: (757) 388-4190, ; Email: voronard@evms.edu
Received May 2007; Accepted September 2007.

Abstract

A chinstrap alone improved severe obstructive sleep apnea as well as or better than the use of CPAP.
Citation:
Vorona RD; Ware JC; Sinacori JT; Ford ML; Cross JP. Treatment of severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome with a chinstrap. J Clin Sleep Med 2007;3(7):729–730.


The rest of the article HERE.

Without chinstrap (mouth open). Notice narrow anterior to posterior airway space as a result of the tongue base and the posteriorly positioned epiglottis.





With chinstrap (mouth closed). Notice significant improvement of the posterior airway space with the tongue base and epiglottis rotated forward.

Interesting; but kind of scary.
I wonder what insurance companies will make of this.
--or which ones; or when.

...and already the marketers have jumped on the bandwagon. On today's Yahoo mail homepage was an ad for a miraculous cure for sleep apnea. It was a chin strap and was only $119 plus shipping.
J

ONE patient - yes ONE, only one patient was evaluated in this study.

My sleep, snoring and such did not respond to a chin strap. Do I get to write an article too?

It is reasonable that the occasional person may be cured with the use of a chinstrap. I don't know what happened to that link I used to post that explains about how merely opening one's mouth facilitates airway collapse, even in the absence of mouth breathing. So if someone's airway collapse is a function only of mouth opening, not opening the mouth would fix the problem. Obviously this won't work for everyone, but boy, am I jealous of that guy!

Maybe a strap and intertube, would help your De-Nile. Then when they find you drowned it won't be called Sleep Apnea maybe, just a freak out boating. Jim

I read this very same story well over 2 years ago when I was first starting on the machine.

If it was so easy for everyone we would be doing sleep studies with chin straps first instead of cpap machines. Though if someone is lucky enough to get by with a chin strap then I am happy for them.

Pugsy wrote:I read this very same story well over 2 years ago when I was first starting on the machine.

If it was so easy for everyone we would be doing sleep studies with chin straps first instead of cpap machines. Though if someone is lucky enough to get by with a chin strap then I am happy for them.

The Cure a $2,00.00 sleep study and a $10 chin strap, ain't life grand. Jim

Imagine if after your PSG diagnosis, they did a chinstrap study before they would do a titration.

Lizistired wrote: Imagine if after your PSG diagnosis, they did a chinstrap study before they would do a titration.

Or just bring a chinstrap in with you...tell them you always sleep with a chinstrap for TMJ or something.
J

When I had the idea of posting it here, I didn't mean "throw away your Cpap and stay with your chinstrap".
But I thought that the clue of a chinstrap will help someone make his journey in Cpap therapy more efective (i know it's my case).
If there's an auxiliary method in conjuction with Cpap, instead of keep increasing your pressure and disturbung your sleep, I think it's valid.

In the other hand, think how billion people in the world (in places like India, China, South America and even USA) can't afford a PSG+CPAP+MASK or even have a doctor to let him know that he suffers of apnea?


Maybe a chinstrap alone isn't a cure for OSA (maybe is). Anyway it won't hurt anybody.

Sorry if this post have offended someone.

derek70 wrote:
Maybe a chinstrap alone isn't a cure for OSA (maybe is). Anyway it won't hurt anybody.

Yes it will hurt people. How many people put off being checked and properly treated thinking they can use a chinstrap instead. How many have nagging spouses pushing a chin strap instead of the awful machine?

If someone CAN choose between CPAP or chinstrap (without any study) it's his own choice.

The utility of this study (and even more so the one I lost the link to) is in demonstrating that an open mouth can be an impediment to an open airway.

As noted earlier; the article was about ONE patient.
This not a study.
It is the report of a single case study in a probable attempt to sell a big pile of over-priced chin straps.
Here's your chin strap; we'll be back later for the body.