Restoration Strategies Following Short-Term Vocal Exertion in Healthy Young Adults.

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of a 10-min vocal exertion task on voice and respiratory measures, to determine whether restorative strategies can mitigate these effects after cessation of exertion, and to assess whether these strategies continue to reduce these detrimental effects when vocal exertion is resumed. Method A prospective, repeated-measures design was used. On consecutive days, 20 participants (equal men and women) completed two vocal exertion tasks separated by 10 min of restoration strategies: vocal rest or controlled phonation (low-level tissue mobilization using straw phonation). Voice and respiratory data were collected at baseline, following the first exertion task, after restoration strategies, and after the second exertion task. Outcome measures included (a) vocal effort, (b) phonation threshold pressure, (c) maximum and minimum fundamental frequencies, (d) cepstral peak prominence of connected speech, (e) lung volume initiation and termination, (f) percent vital capacity expended per syllable, and (g) number of syllables per breath group. Results A worsening of phonation threshold pressure (p < .001), vocal effort (p < .001), and increase of minimum fundamental frequency (p = .007) were observed after vocal exertion. Lung volume initiation (p < .001) and lung volume termination (p < .001) increased. These changes were largely reversed by restoration strategies, but only controlled phonation prevented exertion-induced changes in respiratory kinematic measures on a subsequent vocal exertion task. Conclusions Exertion-induced voice changes occur rapidly and may be mitigated by either controlled phonation or vocal rest. Controlled phonation is recommended as a superior strategy due to evidence of a protective effect on a successive vocal exertion task.