{"id":7393,"date":"2020-05-05T06:52:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T12:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/?p=7393"},"modified":"2024-06-18T14:16:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T20:16:02","slug":"giving-voice-to-rehab-therapists-tips-for-taking-care-of-your-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/speech-language-pathology\/giving-voice-to-rehab-therapists-tips-for-taking-care-of-your-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Voice to Rehab Therapists: Tips for Taking Care of Your Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.19.10&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7396 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Voice-Box-300x203.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Voice-Box-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Voice-Box.jpg 384w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Written by: Anysia Ensslen-Boggs, Ed.D., CCC-SLP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As rehab therapists, spoken communication is an essential part of our work. We are considered \u201c<strong>occupational voice users<\/strong>\u201d, which includes anyone whose voice is essential to their job. Our voice is our instrument that we use to communicate with our patients, students, and their families. Have you ever noticed the care musicians take of their instruments? Musicians know how to maintain, clean, and repair their instruments. When they are not using them, musicians put their instruments in a case. Unlike musicians, who put away their instruments when they\u2019re not using them, <strong>occupational voice users use their instruments throughout the day<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some common behaviors can be damaging to your larynx, or \u201cvoice box.\u201d Overuse, abuse, or misuse of your vocal mechanism may lead to problems with your voice. Some behaviors include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Screaming<\/li>\n<li>Yelling\/Shouting<\/li>\n<li>Loud talking<\/li>\n<li>Coughing<\/li>\n<li>Clearing your throat<\/li>\n<li>Making vocal noises<\/li>\n<li>Whispering<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Do\u2019s &amp; Don\u2019ts of Vocal Health<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7397 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/talking-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/talking-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/talking-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/talking-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/talking.jpg 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/>Speak with others at a close range (about an arm\u2019s length), try clapping instead of shouting at sporting events, and avoid talking over noise and loud music. Instead of clearing your throat and coughing, use a hard swallow. Use a softer\/quieter voice, but <strong>never whisper<\/strong>. If your voice feels tired, take a \u201c<strong>vocal nap<\/strong>\u201d and rest your voice. <strong>Use good posture<\/strong>; proper airflow from the lungs reduces strain on the vocal mechanism. <strong>Daily physical stretching and exercise<\/strong> help to ensure overall health and to strengthen the muscles used for voice and breathing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dry vocal folds do not vibrate well<\/strong>! Drink <u>water<\/u>\u20148 glasses a day is recommended. <strong>Lots of caffeine<\/strong> can have a drying effect on the voice, as can smoking and drinking alcohol. In the winter, a vaporizer or warm-air humidifier can help add moisture to the air. If your throat is dry or sore, use sugar-free candy or herbal cough drops. <strong>Avoid mentholated cough drops<\/strong>, as they may dry out the throat. Some over the counter and prescription medications may also dehydrate tissues around the larynx, so check with your doctor or pharmacist. If you have acid reflux, this can also influence your voice over time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As rehab therapists, our voices are essential<\/strong>. Often, we take our voices for granted and do not question vocal health until a problem arises. If you notice that your voice is hoarse or other voice changes that last <strong>longer than seven days<\/strong>, seek treatment from a physician, ENT, or other voice specialist. Depending on the changes you are experiencing, voice therapy may be a treatment option.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More information: <a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/10-ways-to-save-your-voice\/\">https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/10-ways-to-save-your-voice\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Course options at Summit: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/c\/GSTRAE.1\">Stroke Recovery Strategies<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/c\/GDEMAE.1\">Therapists Rehabilitation Strategies for Dementia Patients\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"et_pb_row et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row_empty\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> Written by: Anysia Ensslen-Boggs, Ed.D., CCC-SLPAs rehab therapists, spoken communication is an essential part of our work. We are considered \u201coccupational voice users\u201d, which includes anyone whose voice is essential to their job. Our voice is our instrument that we use to communicate with our patients, students, and their families. Have you ever noticed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[199],"class_list":["post-7393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speech-language-pathology","tag-aensslen-boggs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7393"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7399,"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7393\/revisions\/7399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}