The role of speech therapy in the rehabilitation of people with chronic cough

Abstract

Introduction. Cough is the most common symptom of respiratory diseases. It has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. Aim. Examination and comparison of cough intensity, symptoms associated with cough, head and neck muscle’s tonus, breathing type and maximum phonation time in patients with chronic cough before and after speech therapy. Material and methods. The study comprised 10 patients, including 8 women and 2 men from 30 to 73 years of age. All participants completed The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Reflux Symptoms Index (RSI), Voice Tract Discomfort (VTD), Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Additionally, the breathing track, muscle tension within the head and neck, maximum time of phonation were evaluated. Results. The results Visual Analogue Scale, Voice Handicap Index and the maximum phonation time after speech therapy were statistically significant (p <0.05) lower compared to the pre-therapy results. Not all results of the Reflux Symptoms Index and Voice Tract Discomfort were consistent with the normal distribution (p> 0.05) Conclusions. Speech therapy therapy has a significant impact on the severity of chronic cough, symptoms associated with cough, the normalization of head muscle tension, improvement of the breathing track and the elongation of the maximum time of phonation. It is the future direction in the therapy of patients with chronic cough.