The Fall Voice Confernce, held in Washington, DC October 13-14, saw the Sean Parker Institute's Christine Estes, MM, MA-SLP review the Institute's growing experience with vocal injury in fitness instructors, and staff laryngologist Babak Sadoughi, MD examine the safety and efficacy of steroid injecitons of the vocal fold.
Firness instructors are joining teachers and vocal performers as a group at occupational risk for vocal injury. The fast-growing incidence of vocal injury in fitness instructors is a product of acoustically challenging work environments and heavy workload, and such injury is often not recognized as employment-related, leading to difficulties in treatment.
Steroid injections of the vocal folds are seeing renewed popularity in the treatment of benign mucosal conditions, part of the general increase in office-based procedures in laryngology. An examination of a series of cases by Dr. Sadoughi revealed that the much-discussed risk of muscle atrophy appears to be low and self-limited, and injections efficacious in the short term.