Voice disorders and posturography: variables to define the success of rehabilitative treatment

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated the relationship between muscular tension, body posture, and voice quality. The aim of this paper is to study the postural pattern during voice production in healthy subjects compared with patients affected by voice disorders and in the same patients before and after vocal treatment by means of static posturography. Classic posturographic variables and spectral frequency analysis of body sway have been measured. Posturographic values in patients before vocal treatment and controls were within normal ranges but not homogeneous. Body sway significantly decreased during voice production in patients after voice training. Spectral frequency analysis of body sway showed a significantly decreased body sway at middle frequencies on the anteroposterior (y) plane during voice production after voice training. Our results would suggest that in patients affected by voice disorders rehabilitative treatment may cause an improvement of the body proprioceptive scheme and this improvement might be useful to evaluate the proper (ongoing) treatment.