Biofeedback May Prolong Career of Wind Instrument Musicians
Tucson, AZ (PRWEB) July 17, 2013 -- The Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Journal – Professional and collegiate-level wind instrument players must sustain high levels of oral pressure for long periods of time. This pressure can induce stress on the back of the mouth and throat where the soft palate and pharynx meet (velopharynx), thereby causing air to leak through the pharynx and out of the nasal passages. This is known as stress velopharyngeal incompetence (SVPI) and can be detrimental to the career of wind musicians. A novel study found a noninvasive way to measure nasal pressure and to monitor SVPI symptoms of wind musicians. This information can lead to biofeedback and other behavioral management techniques that may prolong the career of these musicians.
An article in The Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Journal discusses how SVPI in wind instrument players is surprisingly widespread, with approximately one-third of the musicians surveyed reporting symptoms. A study was conducted in which 10 collegiate trombone players, wearing a tube in their nasal passages to measure nasal rim air pressure, recorded a single 30-minute music session. Six of the players reported SVPI symptoms and four did not.
The study found that none of the participants had an open velopharynx while playing the trombone, but the velopharynx of all 10 participants was open immediately before sound inception on at least some breaths taken between notes. This leads researchers to believe that SVPI symptoms do not necessarily indicate a pharyngeal air leak, but the symptoms can show air leaks directly before sound production.
Additional testing was performed on two participants to see if this type of air leak can be controlled with biofeedback or other forms of behavioral modification. One of the two subjects had less frequent leaks, showing that pharyngeal air leaks can be decreased with biofeedback.
One major issue in this study is that the actual definition of SVPI is still unclear. Researchers are currently debating whether “presound velopharyngeal opening” should be included in the definition. However, the results of this study prove that there is an early detection system for presound pharyngeal air leaks, and that behavioral modification techniques can combat the problem.
Full text of the article, “Stress Velopharyngeal Incompetence in Collegiate Trombone Players,” Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, Vol. 50, No. 4, July 2013, is available at http://www.cpcjournal.org/doi/full/10.1597/11-181
About Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal
The official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA), the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal is a bi-monthly international, interdisciplinary journal on craniofacial anomalies. The journal explores and reports on the study and treatment, including experimental and proven surgical procedures, of cleft lip/palate and craniofacial anomalies. It also keeps readers in touch with the latest research in related laboratory sciences. To learn more about the society, please visit: http://www.acpa-cpf.org/
Bridget Lamb, Allen Press, Inc., http://www.allenpress.com, 785.865.9410 248, [email protected]
Share this article