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Effects of warm-up exercises on self-assessed vocal effort
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

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

Susanna Whitling, Qin Wan, Mark L Berardi and Eric J Hunter
Logopedics, phoniatrics, vocology, Vol.48(4), pp.172-179
2023
DOI: 10.1080/14015439.2022.2075459
PMCID: PMC10020864
PMID: 35713650
url
https://doi.org/10.1080/14015439.2022.2075459View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

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

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