26 Jun 2025 | Annett Pötzsch, Nadanja Jeremic, Doris Krasser MSc
Overlaps of the F.O.T.T.® Concept and LiN (positioning in neutral)
Our many years of experience in the therapy of severely affected, bedridden patients at the SRH Specialist Hospital Neresheim show that positioning can influence the frequency and quality of swallowing, facio-oral movements and vigilance.
This supports the process of tracheostomy-tube-management and dysphagia treatment.
Positioning is chosen and varied according to the patient’s general condition, individual objectives and context in order to dynamically improve postural control, breathing, swallowing frequency as well as facial and lingual movements.
Ricki Nusser-Müller-Busch in F.O.T.T., Chapter 12, Springer-Verlag, 5th German Edition 2023
The choice of position (e.g. sitting in the bed/chair, 90° side-lying, 135° prone position, ...) should be adapted as individually as possible to the respective patient and the therapy content relevant to him.
In positioning in neutral (Lagerung in Neutralstellung, LiN), an important part is played by the alignment of the body parts to each other in a neutral position.
This can be achieved by using material for positioning, to give the patient stability and to avoid hollow spaces.
Recommended literature: Pickenbrock et al. in Conventional Versus Neutral Positioning in Central Neurological Disease, Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 2015.
Further information, including patient examples, can be found in chapter 12 of the new edition of the German F.O.T.T. Book by Ricki Nusser-Müller-Busch, 2023, Springer Verlag.
