Abstract
Cheerleading - the all-American sport image -- has been described as extremely damaging to the voice. However, even among those who have described this voice use as damaging, attempts to establish the factors in cheerleading that impact destructively on the vocal mechanism have been inconclusive. Factors that have been discussed which differentiate cheerleaders with and without laryngeal pathology or dysphonia include marked pitch elevation, hard vocal attack, depressed pitch range, and constitutional vulnerability within the pathology group. Methods of evaluating voice change have included voice intensity measures, respiratory volumes, and questionnaires. Training in appropriate breath support and voice production techniques has been suggested to prevent damage to the voice and larynx. This study was an attempt to measure the acoustic characteristics of cheerleaders' voices throughout the cheerleading season, give the cheerleaders information about appropriate voice techniques and vocal hygiene, and evaluate the impact of the information on the quality of voice produced by the cheerleaders.

Back to NCVS-sponsored Research Articles