People with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) often suffer from dysphonia, which affects communication and quality of life. It is a priority, therefore, to find effective and efficient ways to combat dysphonia in order to improve their prognosis and outlook on life.

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at a study that attempts to do just that. In this particular research, a combination of inspiratory and expiratory muscle training (IMT and EMT, respectively) was tested in order to determine whether improvement of dysphonia in patients with moderate PD occurred.

Key Findings

• People with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) often suffer from dysphonia, which affects communication and quality of life.
• 5 weeks of inspiratory and expiratory respiratory muscle training (RMT) improved respiratory muscle strength in all, and vowel phonation and quality of speech in some Parkinson’s patients.

Patient Impact

RMT effectively improves respiratory muscle strength in Parkinson’s patients and may lead to improved speech.

Study Methods

PD patients underwent two 5-week sessions of EMT plus IMT at high intensity with three weeks of detraining in between. Respiratory muscle function, vowel phonation and voice quality were assessed at baseline and at the end of the RMT duration.

Study Results

Maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MIP and MEP) significantly improved due to the use of RMT. Some patients even perceived improvements in vowel phonation as well as voice quality.

A combination of EMT and IMT is effective in significantly improving respiratory muscle strength in patients with PD and might lead to improved speech. This could significantly improve their quality of life, and should be considered an efficient and effective method of treating dysphonia.

References

Lewis E. The effects of respiratory muscle strength training on individuals with Parkinson’s Disease. A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Western Washington University, May 2013.