Among the best-known symptoms of Parkinson diseasewe count the hand tremors, limbs, face or balance problems. These symptoms, like mood changes, are the first targets of existing therapies. However, the life of patients with Parkinson’s can also be altered by other symptoms, which medicine does not yet take into account. Voice and breathing alterations are two of these manifestations, which nevertheless affect between 60 and 80% of patients. Their voice may suddenly become flatter and less loud or the patient may find it difficult to be heard as if out of breath.
Results from 8 weeks
From University of Iowa researchers, led by Dr. Elizabeth Stegemöller, wanted to test whether choir singing could help relieve some of the voice symptoms caused by Parkinson’s disease and, therefore, improve the quality of life and health of patients. They took the experiment to the point of also imagining an ideal “dosage” by testing either one session or two singing sessions per week on 27 patients.
The experiment lasted 8 weeks and different voice measurements were taken before and after the experiment. Voice therapy sessions involved voice exercises and the performance of popular songs.
Both groups (one session per week and twice per week) showed a significant improvement in inspiration and expiratory pressure, as well as phonation time. Other voice measurements have been improved, but not significantly.
Interestingly, these voice changes also impacted their overall quality of life.
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