What is vocal cord strain?
Vocal cord strain occurs when the muscles and vocal cords are injured through overuse. It can also be a side effect of laryngitis or surgery to treat cancer.
Vocal cord strain is most common among people who use their voice regularly for work or recreation. This includes singers, actors, teachers, and public speakers.
What are the symptoms of strained vocal cords?
Strained vocal cord symptoms may include:
- Chronic hoarseness for more than two weeks (such as a raspy or breathy voice, a voice quiver, or a strained or choppy voice)
- Pain or a lump in the throat when speaking
- Changes in pitch
- Odd sounding speech
Diagnosing vocal cord strain
Voice and speech disorder physicians at the Penn Center for Voice, Speech and Swallowing rely on your medical history and a clinical exam to diagnose vocal cord strain.
In some cases, video stroboscopy may be used to differentiate between vocal cord weakness, cysts, or nodules. Video stroboscopy is a painless, outpatient procedure that uses a synchronized, flashing light to visualize vocal cord vibration. During this exam, a flexible tube (nasopharyngoscopy) equipped with a strobe light and camera is passed through your nose and positioned just above the vocal cords. Alternatively, a rigid telescope can be passed through your mouth — over the tongue — to visualize vocal cords. This light flashes on and off as your vocal cords vibrate. A microphone is placed along your neck to simultaneously detect the frequency of the vocal cords.
How to treat a vocal cord strain
The primary treatment for vocal cord strain is speech therapy. Therapy may be prescribed to strengthen naturally weak vocal cords — using special types of exercises — or to correct or perfect breathing techniques (as in the case of overuse injuries).
Our dedicated speech therapists tailor speech therapy to your unique needs. This treatment consists of exercises to strengthen the vocal cords, improve breath control during speech and protect the airway during swallowing.