Localized and whole-body vibrational therapies for voice: A possible therapeutic technique

Abstract

Background Vocal fatigue is a commonly found in individuals with voice problems. Direct vibration of the neck using electronic massager and vertical oscillation of the body delivered by a vibrating platform have been shown to facilitate phonatory function and reduces muscle tightness and fatigue in performers. Aim This study investigated the effect of whole-body vibration (WBV) and localised vibration (LV) of the neck on the phonatory functions of individuals with vocal fatigue. Methods Forty-four subjects with a mean age of 21.67 years were given either WBV (Turbosonic, Korea), the LV (Novofan, Germany), or placebo (resting) for 10 minutes after singing karaoke continuously for at least 100 minutes. A glissando task in eliciting maximum pitch production, and self-reported vocal fatigue index were taken before and after the singing. Results All three groups showed significant reduction of phonatory function (maximum pitch production, and vocal fatigue rating) after prolonged singing. Following vibrational intervention, the LV group showed significantly improvement (p<0.05) (increase of 1.93 semitone in pitch production; a reduction of 5.17 in vocal fatigue) than the placebo group (increase of 0.64 semitone in pitch production; reduction of 1.92 in vocal fatigue). The WBV group showed a significantly reduction in vocal fatigue (8.87) (p<0.05) and also in the pitch production (increase of 1.4 semitones) (p=0.05) when compared to the LV or placebo group. Conclusion Localized vibration and whole body vibration are effective in bringing improvement in phonatory function following vocal fatigue.