Accessory respiratory muscles performance among people with spinal cord injury while singing songs with different musical parameters

People with spinal cord injuries often experience respiratory problems like hypersecretions, bronchospasm, and respiratory muscle weakness. Singing therapy is used as part of respiratory muscle training to improve muscle strength. Different song types may activate specific respiratory muscles because of variations in tempo, pitch, and rhythmic complexity. The study found that different accessory respiratory muscles are activated when people with SCI sing songs with varying characteristics.

• 1
  The study found statistically significant differences in rectus abdominis (RA) and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle responses among different song categories.
• 2
  The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle is most active when singing high-pitch songs.
• 3
  The rectus abdominis (RA) muscle is most active during slow-tempo songs with easy rhythmic complexity.