Can singing training can improve voice projection for people with a spinal cord injury?

Respiratory dysfunction is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in spinal cord injury (SCI). Therapeutic singing exercises have been demonstrated to develop muscle control, expand lung capacity and increase vocal intensity with other clinical populations. This study will be the first to systematically document the physiological effect of singing instruction on respiratory function and voice projection in a quadriplegia population. All subjects will participate in physiological and acoustic assessments whilst vocalising, singing, and speaking. Forty subjects with chronic cervical SCI will be randomised into control and experimental groups. Subjects in the treatment group will participate in twice weekly singing instruction in small groups (n=5), with an additional weekly homepractise session, for a period of 20 weeks. All subjects will repeat the initial assessments after 10 and 20 weeks. Control subjects will participate in the vocal training after 20 weeks. The relevance of this project is indicated by research that shows that respiratory disorders and subsequent diminished vocal projection are common and disabling in the quadriplegia population. Singing training has been shown to improve respiratory capacity and voice projection in other clinical populations. In a health care setting where evidence-based practise is highly valued, the examination of the effect of this innovative therapy on ventilatory function is strongly indicated.