Voice Research on Fitness Instructors...

April 24, 2020

.

I am really EXCITED to share that my research is now published (and especially that the publishing date was on World Voice Day)! #notacoincidence #prioritizeyourvoice

.

“A Preliminary Study on the Need for Structured Vocal Seminars for Fitness Instructors to Prevent Voice Disorders and Improve Overall Voice Use During Instruction”...

I'm still so excited about this research even though it was completed a little over two years ago! The research originated from my "living in both worlds"and the passion I have for both medical speech/voice pathology and fitness (and occupational voice use in general). There are SO many considerations in general for this at-risk population whose voices are the vehicles through which they deliver motivation, inspiration, and a variety of fitness methods to hundreds of people every week...and most have never had any vocal training (on hygiene/care, use, or dynamics.. OR voice disorder prevention). The fitness instructor's personal, professional/occupational, and voice demands are always high and other factors consistently affect these professionals as well (stress/pressure re: client reviews and that pay can be dependent on number of people in classes, etc.; physical exhaustion; other "baseline" occupational &/or social habits/demands....and the list goes on). Voice education is crucial for this population as well as voice training specific to the role of the fitness professional. Stay tuned for more research!

.
.
I want to acknowledge and THANK ALL those amazing individuals involved in this research, the American Speech Language Hearing Association @ashaweb , and the Special Interest Group 3 (Voice and Upper Airway Disorders) coordinating committee & their reviewers for the opportunity to publish this information in hopes that it will help others when diagnosing and treating &/or ADVOCATING for this at-risk population of OCCUPATIONAL VOICE USERS. As always, I am incredibly GRATEFUL that I can combine my two passions of VOICE and FITNESS to help others and make a positive impact on their voices and lives. #poweredbypurpose #passionandpurpose .
.
Check it out for yourself at https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_PERSP-19-00018 and feel free to email me for a PDF copy for yourself!