Immediate effects of postural repositioning on maximum phonation duration tasks in seated individuals with acquired dysarthria: a pilot study

Abstract

Purpose

To determine the effectiveness of a single 10-min postural repositioning session on the maximum phonation duration (MPD) of the vowel/a/in individuals with acquired dysarthria.

Materials and methods

A pre-post interventional design was implemented; five patients with dysarthria (PWDs) underwent a single 2-hour experimental session. MPD capacities were assessed before and immediately after a 10-min postural repositioning intervention by a physical and occupational therapist. Five age- and sex-matched individuals without dysarthria were recruited as controls. The main outcome measure was the MPD of the vowel/a/at conversational and louder voice levels, with a speech-and-language therapist standing 1 and 6 m away, respectively. Secondary outcome measures were thoracic expansion, manometry, electromyographic recordings of axial muscles and perceived effort.

Results

In PWDs, postural repositioning improved the MPD during the/a/–1-m (80.3% increase) and/a/–6-m tasks (18% increase), increased thoracic expansion and manometric measurements, and reduced the perceived effort necessary to perform the tasks. A triphasic electromyographic pattern was observed during both/a/–1-m and/a/–6-m tasks in controls, but was absent in participants with severe dysarthria, even after postural repositioning. Nonetheless, postural repositioning enabled an earlier onset of EMG activity prior to voice production.

Conclusions

These data suggest the efficacy of postural repositioning in improving phonatory capacities essential for voice production in PWDs.

Keywords:

• Acquired dysarthria
• corrected seated posture
• maximum phonation duration
• electromyographic patterns
• transdisciplinary approach

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Daniel Marineau for technical support, Guillaume Elgbeili for statistical support, Zoe Miranda for data collection, Loyda Jean-Charles for EMG analysis, and Caroline Khauv for voice analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fondation de l’Institut de Réadaptation Gingras-Lindsay de Montréal, CRIR, CIUSSS Centre-Sud de Montréal. DB is also supported by Fonds de recherche du Québec en Santé.