Effects of whole body vibration on vocal fatigue voice

Abstract

The study is an initial attempt to investigate the effects of whole body vibration (WBV) on perceived vocal condition, phonatory function and physiological changes in vocal fatigue participants. Thirty participants aged between 19 to 25 years old with healthy voice were recruited and performed in a continuous singing task to induce vocal fatigue. They were randomly assigned to one intervention group: a WBV group that received 10 minutes of whole body vibration with individualized vibrational frequencies, and a control group that had vocal rest. Changes in perceptual ratings on the ease of soft phonation and vocal fatigue symptoms, maximum frequency, blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation level were measured and compared across intervention groups. Results showed that WBV intervention promoted significantly greater improvement in perceived vocal condition than the control group, evidenced by a significant larger decrease in perceptual ratings on the ease of soft phonation (p < .01) and vocal fatigue symptoms (p < .001). However, no treatment effects were found for maximum frequency, blood pressure and blood oxygen level. This study suggests the potential use of WBV in reducing perception of vocal fatigue.