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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Dec;48(4):172-179.
doi: 10.1080/14015439.2022.2075459. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Effects of warm-up exercises on self-assessed vocal effort

Susanna Whitling  1 , Qin Wan  2 , Mark L Berardi  3 , Eric J Hunter  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of warm-up exercises on self-assessed vocal effort

Susanna Whitling et al. Logoped Phoniatr Vocol. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: An elevated sense of vocal effort due to increased vocal demand is frequently reported by patients with voice disorders. However, effects of vocal warm-up on self-assessed vocal effort have not been thoroughly examined. A recently developed version of the Borg CR-10 Scale facilitates vocal effort assessments, following different vocal warm-up tasks.

Methods: Effects of a short (5 min) vocal warm-up on self-assessed vocal effort was evaluated using the Borg CR-10. Twenty-six vocally healthy participants (13F, 13M, mean age 22.6), in two randomised groups, underwent sessions of either reading aloud or semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTE). Vocal effort was evaluated at four times: pre to post vocal warm-up and two silence periods. Non-parametric analyses for repeated measures and calculations for within-subject standard deviation were applied in group comparisons.

Results: Following vocal warm-up, vocal effort ratings were increased to a statistically significant degree in both intervention groups compared to baseline ratings. After a 5-min rest in silence following completion of the vocal warm-up, vocal effort ratings returned to baseline levels in both groups. The drop in ratings immediately post warm-up compared to 5 min later was statistically significant for the SOVTE group.

Conclusions: Five minutes of vocal warm-up caused increased self-perceived vocal effort in vocally healthy individuals. The increased sense of effort dissipated faster following warm-up for the SOVTE group. When using the Borg CR-10 scale to track vocal effort, it may be beneficial to apply experience-based anchors.

Keywords: SOVT; Vocal effort; self-evaluation, Borg CR-10; vocal warm-up.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

There are no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Flow chart of trial process with placement for vocal effort ratings (VER 1–4), vocal warm-up interventions (loud reading or SOVTE) and silence periods. The procedure was prefaced with a practice session and baseline recordings of vocal effort levels.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
(left) Self-evaluation of vocal effort as designed by van Leer and van Mersbergen, first published in Journal of Voice, 2017 [16]. (right) Self-evaluation of vocal effort as presented in the experimental set-up.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
(left) Visual representation as shown prompt for ascending pitch glides (descending not shown). (right) Visual representation as shown prompt for ascending hills/accents for recorded pitch range during SOVTE (own material).
Figure 4:
Figure 4:
Absolute (left) and relative (right) changes in self-evaluated vocal effort. Bars represent standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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