Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil, 2014 · DOI: 10.1310/sci2001-48 · Published: January 1, 2014
An abdominal binder (AB) is often used for patients with tetraplegia resulting from a spinal cord injury (SCI). The idea is that it helps restore pressure in the abdomen, which can improve breathing and reduce blood pressure issues. This study looked at how wearing an AB affects breathing and speech in people with SCI. They measured lung function, voice quality, and speech characteristics with and without the AB. The study found that the AB improved breathing capacity in some ways, but it didn't significantly change speech production. However, some participants seemed to have better speech naturalness and loudness when wearing the AB.
Abdominal binders can be a useful tool to improve respiratory function in individuals with tetraplegic SCI, particularly vital capacity, forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume.
Although AB may not directly improve speech production for all individuals, some may experience individual benefits related to speech naturalness and loudness.
Further investigation is required to determine whether there are specific areas of speech production that can benefit from an AB and whether combining its use with behavioral therapy approaches maximizes gains.