UNMC Speech Pathologist Helps Young Female Athletes
Overcome Breathing Disorders
Nothing frightens young athletes in the middle of competition or a
strenuous workout more than a sudden inability to breathe. They wheeze,
gasp, hyperventilate and may even lose consciousness. In some cases,
medical examination identifies the problem as exercise induced asthma.
Others have a condition known as vocal cord dysfunction. If vocal
cord dysfunction is the problem, this can be alleviated by following some
specific breathing exercises formulated by Marsha Sullivan, speech pathologist
at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Munroe-Meyer Institute.
In an 18-month outcomes study of 20 athletes with vocal cord dysfunction,
Sullivan found that 19 of the athletes successfully use the breathing techniques
and have been able to continue to compete in sports. On Nov. 16, Sullivan
and Frederick Ogren, M.D., associate professor, department of otolaryngology-head
and neck surgery, will present Sullivans outcomes presentation in Washington,
D.C. to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The
associations national conference is expected to draw more than 15,000
speech pathologists and other specialists. Last month, Sullivan made
a similar presentation to the Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Vocal cord dysfunction seems to affect more young female athletes than
males, although were not sure why, Sullivan said. Patients are often
quite upset when they come to my office. Some still think they must
have some form of asthma even though their physician has diagnosed them
as having vocal cord dysfunction and referred them for treatment, while
others are just shocked that they can be in such top physical shape and
something like this happens.
The formal name of their condition is paradoxic vocal cord motion.
The two vocal cords stretch across the windpipe and stay open in a v-shape
to allow maximum airflow while breathing. The vocal cords close together
during the act of speaking, as the human voice is created by the vibrations
of air flowing across the closed vocal cords.
Under certain circumstances, the heightened breathing required during
strenuous exertion can create dysfunction in the vocal cords causing a
disruption of airflow during exercise. The key to treatment is the
athletes understanding that vocal cord dysfunction is something he or
she can control. Patients learn specific exercises that relax the vocal
cords back into their normal position for full air intake. In addition
they are taught to emphasize abdominal movement during breathing.
I have both the patients and their families learn abdominal deep breathing
techniques, Sullivan said. Families can then remind the athlete
to use the techniques and relay information to coaches.
Sullivan hopes the high success rate in her outcomes survey will encourage
other specialists to consider sudden breathing disorders in athletes in
a new light. She always strongly encourages athletes to seek medical
examination at the first sign of any breathing disorders. Exercise induced
asthma is a serious condition that requires medication, inhalers and often
more extensive treatment.
But when asthma medications are not effective in eliminating the breathing
difficulties, further diagnostics should look for possible paradoxic vocal
cord motion. Sullivan says it is a shame for young athletes to discontinue
participation when they can quite easily learn to control the breathing
problem. This is especially true in an era when women are participating
more in competitive athletics.
Anyone interested in more information about vocal cord dysfunction and
therapeutic breathing techniques can contact the Speech Pathology Department
at (402) 559-6460 for printed material.