Expiratory Muscle Strength Training to Improve Voice and Respiratory Outcomes After Laryngectomy: A Feasibility Study.
Freya Sparks, Margaret Coffey, Lucy Dipper and 4 others
PMID 40817430WHAT IT FOUND
Ten people who had a laryngectomy completed expiratory muscle strength training using a hand-held device at their stoma.
All finished the five-week programme, but most needed simple equipment tweaks to stop air leaks. Lung pressure and voice loudness improved, yet clinicians saw no change in voice quality.
Key findings
01Expiratory muscle strength training is feasible for people with a laryngectomy, with all ten recruited participants completing the intervention and attending all assessments.
02Participants showed significant improvements in maximum expiratory pressure, forced expiratory volume, peak flow, and voice loudness after the five-week training period.
03Despite objective gains in loudness and respiratory strength, blinded clinician ratings of tracheoesophageal voice quality showed no significant change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had a very small sample size of ten participants, which limits the generalisability of the findings. There was no control group, so it is not possible to determine if the observed improvements were due to the intervention, natural variation, or placebo effects. The study was underpowered to evaluate efficacy, as acknowledged by the authors. Normative values for respiratory and voice outcomes in this specific population are not established, making it difficult to interpret the clinical significance of the changes. Blinded perceptual voice ratings were conducted by a single clinician, which may introduce bias or limit reliability. Many participants had mild voice impairments at baseline, potentially creating a ceiling effect for perceptual voice quality improvements.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the City St George's, University of London.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improvements in measured loudness and respiratory pressure equate to a better-sounding voice. Clinician ratings of voice quality showed no significant change, and the study was too small to prove efficacy.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →