Physical Therapy for Muscle Tension Dysphonia with Cervicalgia

Objectives This study investigated the effectiveness of a specialized manual physical therapy (PT) program at improving voice among patients diagnosed with concomitant muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) and cervicalgia at a tertiary care voice center. Materials and Methods Cervicalgia was determined by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ear, nose, & throat journal nose, & throat journal, 2024-08, Vol.103 (8), p.509-517
Main Authors: Tate, Alan D, Tomlinson, Carey A, Francis, David Oliver, Wishik, Emily D, Lowery, Anne S, Watkins, Mariel O, Stewart, Thomas G, Gong, Wu H, Gilbert, Mark R, Garrett, C Gaelyn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical outcomes
Larynx
Musculoskeletal diseases
Neck pain
Physical therapy
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Summary:Objectives This study investigated the effectiveness of a specialized manual physical therapy (PT) program at improving voice among patients diagnosed with concomitant muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) and cervicalgia at a tertiary care voice center. Materials and Methods Cervicalgia was determined by palpation of the anterior neck. Both voice therapy (VT) and PT was recommended for all patients diagnosed with MTD and cervicalgia. PT included full-body manual physical therapy with myofascial release. Patients underwent: 1) VT alone, 2) concurrent PT and VT (PT with VT), 3) PT alone, 4) VT, but did not have PT ordered by treating clinician (VT without PT order) or 5) VT followed by PT (VT then PT). The pairwise difference in post–Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) controlling for baseline variables was calculated with a linear regression model. Results 178 patients met criteria. All groups showed improvement with treatment. The covariate-adjusted differences in mean post–VHI-10 improvement comparing the VT alone group as a reference were as follows: PT with VT 9.95 (95% confidence interval 7.70, 12.20); PT alone 8.31 (6.16, 10.45); VT without PT order 8.51 (5.55, 11.47); VT then PT 5.47 (2.51, 8.42). Conclusion Among patients diagnosed with MTD with cervicalgia, treatment with a specialized PT program was associated with improvement in VHI-10 scores regardless of whether they had VT. While VT is the standard of care for MTD, PT may also offer benefit for MTD patients with cervicalgia.
ISSN:0145-5613
1942-7522
1942-7522
DOI:10.1177/01455613211063239