The influence of kinesiotaping on the loosening of the laryngeal muscles in hyperfunctional dysphones

Introduction: Hyperfunctional dysfunction is one of the most common functional dysphonia, cha-racterized by voice insufficiency with excessive tightening of the muscles inside and outside the larynx during phonation. To make the treatment process more effective, new ways of rehabilitation are constantly being sought and developed. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of laryngotaping - an innovative method of taping around the larynx and neck muscles. Material and method: 10 patients with diagnosed hyperfunctional dysphonia participated in the study. Using the kinesiotaping principles, for 7 days, the suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles, ster-nocleidomastoid muscles as well as the thyroid cartilage were taped. Before and after the therapy, the patients completed the VHI voice self-evaluation questionnaire. The evaluation of the larynx according to the L. Mathienson scale was also assessed palpation. Results: Analyzing the results of the VHI questionnaire and evaluation of palpation evaluation of the larynx before and after the therapy, statistically significant differences were observed. The results on average decreased by half, which is the desired effect of therapy. Discussion: The results confirm the positive impact of kinesiotaping around the larynx. However, more research is needed on a larger group of patients to fully evaluate the therapeutic effect. Conclusions: 1. Laryngotaping is an effective way to normalize muscle tone, and thus to improve the quality of the voice. 2. The presented studies require continuation, however, positive reception of the introduced therapy by patients encourages further research on a larger group of patients