Treatment, Vocal Fatigue
Conditions
Brief summary
Teachers are a population at high risk for voice disorders given their occupational demands. In a teaching career, a common debilitating symptom among all vocal symptoms experienced is - vocal fatigue, impacting teachers' occupational performance and increasing health care costs. It is therefore essential to identify potential treatment options to alleviate the symptom of vocal fatigue. The purpose of this study is to utilize a body-system level cardiovascular training protocol in comparison to traditional voice production training to alleviate the symptoms of vocal fatigue.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCardiovascular Conditioning Protocol
Participants will be randomized to either one of the treatment arms to receive treatment for a period of 4 weeks.
OTHERVoice Production Exercises
Participants will be randomized to either one of the treatment arms to receive treatment for a period of 4 weeks.
Sponsors
East Tennessee State University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
21 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Female teachers between the ages of 21-60 years Female instructors and college professors between the ages of 21-60 years * A score of ≥ 15 on factor 1 of the VFI (tiredness and avoidance of voice use) or a score of ≤ 5 on factor 3 of the VFI (improvement of symptoms or lack thereof with rest) * Sedentary- wherein participants will need to be completing mild intensity cardiovascular exercise less than 150 minutes in less than 5 days per week
Exclusion criteria
* Trained athletes * Trained singers * Smoking in the past 6months * Prior history of a vocal fold pathology and current vocal fold pathology
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in Physiologic Cost of Speaking | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | Physiologic Cost of Speaking is measured as the rate of oxygen consumption at steady state/ rate of speech (wpm) for each of the two reading tasks |
| Changes in Oxygen Uptake Kinetics | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | Oxygen Uptake Kinetics is measured as the pattern of oxygen use during each of the two reading tasks |
| Changes in Post Task Physiological Recovery | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | Post Task Physiological Recovery is measured as the time, seconds, to reach baseline of oxygen consumption post task (within 0.2ml/kg/min) following each of the reading tasks |
| Changes in Excess Post Exercise Consumption (EPOC) | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | EPOC is measured as the magnitude of recovery oxygen consumption, ml/kg/min for each of the reading tasks |
| Changes in Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | Borg Scale of Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE)- measures the self-report of vocal effort for each of the reading tasks |
| Changes in Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) is a retrospective scale that measures self-reported symptoms of vocal fatigue |
| Changes in Global Rating of Vocal Fatigue (VAS 100mm) | At baseline, at 4 weeks after treatment | Global Rating of Vocal Fatigue (VAS 100mm) measures the ability to sustain voice with no fatigue at the end of a working day |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed