The Perception of Benefit of Vocalization on Sport Performance When Producing Maximum Effort

SummaryObjectives/hypothesisThe purpose of this study was to describe athlete belief of performance benefit when using voice during force production tasks and to determine if vocalization during effortful tasks was correlated to perception of voice impairment. The hypotheses were as follows: (1) there is a belief among athletes that voicing during high-effort tasks improves performance and (2) the use of the voice during high-effort tasks is correlated with the perception of voice impairment.Study DesignAn anonymous, online survey was used to query presence and timing of voicing during force production. The Voice Handicap Index-10 and a visual analog scale for perceived phonatory effort were included in the survey.MethodsThe data obtained from the survey were evaluated using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Correlation coefficients were calculated to determine if there was a relationship between voice production and the perception of voice disorder.ResultsThree hundred seventy-eight participants' survey responses were used in the data analyses. The results indicated that 56% of the participating athletes indicated belief that the production of voice during maximum effort provided a performance advantage. There was no correlation between individuals who used voice during force production and the perception of voice impairment.ConclusionsFindings indicated that most athletes believe that producing voice during maximum effort improves performance without a perception of voice impairment. Further research should be completed to objectively measure force production in both grunt and nongrunt trials concurrently with measures of vocal function.