Purpose
Compare the effects of manual perilaryngeal massage and traditional vocal training in professors with voice complaints.
Methods
Forty-two professors were randomized into two groups: perilaryngeal manual massage (G1) or vocal training (G2). They were assessed for self-perceived vocal and pain evaluation, vocal symptoms reports, cervical muscle tension evaluation, perceptual-auditory and acoustic voice analyses.
Results
No difference was found between the groups regarding age, gender, and teaching experience. The most commonly reported vocal symptoms were throat dryness and hoarseness. Both groups had an improvement in vocal symptoms. No difference was found among the interventions regarding the partial and total scores in the vocal self-assessment questionnaire and acoustic analysis. G1 had an intragroup difference for vocal self-perception and for the acoustic parameter glottal noise energy, while G2 had intragroup differences for scores of effects on daily communication, effects on emotion, limitation in activities, total score, shimmer, and glottal noise energy. In G1, an intragroup difference was found for self-perceived pain, while cervical tension and the slight dysphonia level improved, which increased the percentage of subjects with a regular level. In G2, the result of vocal perceptual-auditory analysis remained stable after the intervention and no difference was found when assessing tension.
Conclusion
: Both interventions improved the subjects’ well-being and vocal quality. The speech therapist should choose which intervention to use by considering the professors’ complaints and vocal requirements.
Voice; Faculty; Voice quality; Voice training; Voice disorders
