J Voice. 2003 Sep; 17(3): 411-24.

Use of acupuncture for the treatment of adductor spasmodic dysphonia: a preliminary investigation.

Lee L, Daughton S, Scheer S, Stemple JC, Weinrich B, Miller-Seiler T, Goeller S, Levin L.

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0394, USA. linda.lee@uc.edu

Ten subjects with adductor spasmodic dysphonia participated in a study examining the effects of an acupuncture treatment protocol on their voice disorder. Treatment consisted of eight sessions, and it was designed and performed by two physicians certified in acupuncture. Voice characteristics were evaluated pretreatment and posttreatment using the CSL Motor Speech Profile (MSP), Unified Spasmodic Dysphonia Rating Scale, and Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Subjects also answered a posttreatment questionnaire regarding their experience. Significant pretreatment and posttreatment differences occurred for some MSP measures. Significant differences were found on all three subtests of the VHI, and the average total scores pretreatment and posttreatment differed by 17 points (considered significant according to VHI standardization). Seven of 10 subjects reported improvements in voice production, although expert raters did not detect perceptual changes in voice quality. Possible reasons for the discrepancies between objective measures and self ratings, and implications for further research, are discussed.