Treatment of vocal fold bowing using neuromuscular electrical stimulation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical effectiveness and safety of a novel behavioral voice therapy program combining structured vocal exercise with adjunctive neuromuscular electrical stimulation for rehabilitating dysphonia secondary to vocal fold bowing.


METHODS
Prospective interventional clinical case series with a 3-month follow-up.


METHODS
Outpatient speech and hearing clinic in an academic medical center.


METHODS
Convenience sample of 7 patients diagnosed by an otolaryngologist as having chronic dysphonia for at least 3 months due to bilateral vocal fold bowing.


METHODS
A novel voice therapy program incorporating exercise principles and sustained phonations of increasing length, volume, and pitch paired with concurrent transcutaneous neuromuscular electrical stimulation.


METHODS
Change in maximum phonation time, highest attainable pitch, glottal closure, supraglottic compression, and Voice Handicap Index.


RESULTS
Maximum phonation time for /i/ increased significantly (z = -2.201, P < .03), with a modest effect demonstrated (Hedges g, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, -0.56 to 1.75). Voice Handicap Index trended toward significance (z = -1.787, P < .07). Glottal closure during phonation improved, and supraglottic compression decreased. Improvements were maintained or enhanced at the 3-month follow-up. Analysis of highest attainable pitch data was limited owing to aperiodicity in the baseline evaluations.


CONCLUSIONS
Behavioral voice therapy with adjunctive neuromuscular electrical stimulation reduced vocal fold bowing, resulting in improved acoustic, laryngeal, and patient-centered outcomes. Maximum phonation time and glottal closure results imply increased vocal fold tension secondary to enhanced thyroarytenoid or cricothyroid muscle function after voice therapy.
Lagorio
Lisa A
LA
Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32610-100174, USA.
Carnaby-Mann
Giselle D
GD
Crary
Michael A
MA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055154:Dysphonia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007821:Laryngeal Muscles; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014827:Vocal Cords; D014833:Voice Quality; D014834:Voice Training