Vocal function exercises for normal voice: The effects of varying dosage.
Maria Bane, Vrushali Angadi, Emily Dressler and 2 others
PMID 28925286WHAT IT FOUND
High-dose vocal exercises improved voice stamina more than traditional or low doses, but half the participants quit.
Low doses failed to produce significant change. Traditional dosing offered the best balance of improvement and adherence.
Key findings
01Participants in the high dosage group showed significant improvement in maximum phonation time that persisted one month after stopping practice, whereas the low dosage group did not improve significantly.
02The high dosage group had a 50% withdrawal rate, compared to 22% in the low dosage group and 11% in the traditional dosage group.
03No visible vocal fold injuries such as lesions, redness, or swelling were observed in any group after six weeks of home practice.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only young women with normal voices, so findings may not apply to men, older adults, or people with voice disorders. Home practice compliance was self-reported and not verified by observation. Weekly sessions were led by undergraduate research assistants rather than experienced speech-language pathologists, which may affect generalizability to clinical care. The high withdrawal rate in the high-dose group means the results for that group are based on fewer participants than intended.
Declared interests
The authors reported no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not prescribe four repetitions of vocal exercises to every patient expecting better results. While the high-dose group improved more, half of those participants quit because the regimen was too demanding. The traditional dose of two repetitions produced similar gains with far better adherence.