Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that vocal cord "retraining" therapy was effective at reducing or resolving breathing symptoms, allowing many athletes to stop using previously prescribed corticosteroid asthma inhalers.
The study examined 46 division one collegiate athletes, marathon and triathlon runners who were newly diagnosed with paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder, a condition brought on by stress, anxiety or increased exertion which causes the vocal cords to constrict and obstruct breathing. An estimated five percent of athletes have PVFMD, which can severely impact performance.
"There isn't a lot in the literature about PVFMD in elite athletes, and our study shows that because of their high level of conditioning they may be more difficult to diagnose and treat than non-athletes." said Brad deSilva, MD, the study's lead investigator.
For example, only 30 percent of the study group reported consistently experiencing PVFMD symptoms like coughing during exercise. However, in post-exertion testing using a flexible fiberoptic laryngoscope (FFL), researchers ultimately verified PVFMD diagnosis in all but six of the athletes.
The study presenters noted that the addition of the exercise trigger during FFL improved the researcher's ability to detect PVFMD, and that clinicians may want to strongly consider FFL examination when dealing with an elite athlete patient with breathing issues, particularly because the respiratory sounds of