{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T23:04:57Z","timestamp":1789427097674,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,6]],"date-time":"2025-09-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757116800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Voice disorders caused by laryngeal hypertension can impact volume, quality, pitch, resonance, flexibility, and stamina. The laryngeal palpation is a tactile-perceptual assessment, which is one of a few examination methods to evaluate laryngeal hypertension. Laryngeal palpation is a manual examination of the extrinsic and paralaryngeal tissues of the larynx (e.g., lateral laryngeal mobility, thyrohyoid and cricothyroid spaces, vertical laryngeal position\/mobility, and pain) through the examiner\u2019s fingers. It can be performed during rest (static assessment) or during phonation (dynamic assessment) of the individual being evaluated. This study aimed to validate a novel laryngeal palpation tool with quantitative ordinal scores by assessing its reliability and diagnostic accuracy establishing preliminary clinical cut-off values, and examining its correlations with self-reported voice disorder symptoms. Methods: In a prospective, controlled validation study, 33 participants were selected to assess the validity and reliability of the novel diagnostic tool in a clinical sample and healthy controls. The clinical sample (n = 19) comprised individuals diagnosed with voice disorders, whereas the healthy control group (n = 14) included participants with no history or symptoms of voice pathology. The novel laryngeal palpation tool was employed by two independent examiners to assess both static and dynamic laryngeal function in all participants. In addition, each participant completed the following questionnaires: Voice Handicap Index (VHI-30) with the 30-item, Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI), and the Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale (VTD). Results: Static palpatory assessment of laryngeal tension demonstrated excellent discriminatory power between groups and tension levels (AROC = 0.979), along with high intra-rater (ICC = 0.966) and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.866). Significant correlations were revealed between the static palpation results and the VHI scores (r = 0.496; p &lt; 0.01) and VFI (r = 0.514; p &lt; 0.01). For the dynamic evaluation of the palpation tool, comparable results for the validity (AROC = 0.840) and reliability (inter-rater: ICC = 0.800, and intra-rater: ICC = 0.840) were revealed. However, no significant correlations were found between dynamic palpation and self-perceived questionnaires, although some were likely found with static palpation. The validity of the total score was found to be AROC = 0.992. Conclusions: The static and dynamic assessments using the novel laryngeal palpation tool demonstrated promising reliability and diagnostic accuracy, providing initial evidence to support its clinical utility. Further studies are needed to establish broader validation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14176309","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,8]],"date-time":"2025-09-08T11:51:12Z","timestamp":1757332272000},"page":"6309","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Reliability and Validity of a New Laryngeal Palpation Tool for Static and Dynamic Examination"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Isabelle","family":"Bargar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Education and Social Sciences, SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg, 40210 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melina Maria","family":"Ippers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Education and Social Sciences, SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg, 40210 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katrin","family":"Neumann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital M\u00fcnster, 48149 M\u00fcnster, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3743-2184","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Philipp","family":"Mathmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital M\u00fcnster, 48149 M\u00fcnster, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Johannes Wesling Klinikum Minden, Ruhr-University Bochum, 32429 Minden, Germany"},{"name":"South African College of Music, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0086-8163","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ben","family":"Barsties v. Latoszek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health, Education and Social Sciences, SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg, 40210 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.otc.2005.10.004","article-title":"Anatomy and physiology of the larynx","volume":"39","author":"Noordzij","year":"2006","journal-title":"Otolaryngol. Clin. North. Am."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"909","DOI":"10.1016\/j.otc.2007.05.002","article-title":"Clinical anatomy and physiology of the voice","volume":"40","author":"Sataloff","year":"2007","journal-title":"Otolaryngol. Clin. North. Am."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"18","article-title":"Larynx: Muscles","volume":"31","author":"Schulte","year":"2007","journal-title":"Sprache-Stimme-Geh\u00f6r"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"195","DOI":"10.1080\/17549500701885577","article-title":"Assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal tension in hyperfunctional voice disorders","volume":"10","author":"Roy","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int. J. Speech Lang. Pathol."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"S1","article-title":"Clinical practice guideline: Hoarseness (dysphonia) (update)","volume":"158","author":"Stachler","year":"2018","journal-title":"Otolaryngol. Head. Neck Surg."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.2147\/PROM.S68631","article-title":"Functional dysphonia: Strategies to improve patient outcomes","volume":"6","author":"Behlau","year":"2015","journal-title":"Patient Relat. Outcome Meas."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.1159\/000369339","article-title":"Characteristics of a dysphonic population referred for voice assessment and\/or voice therapy","volume":"67","author":"Mertens","year":"2015","journal-title":"Folia Phoniatr. Logop."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144","DOI":"10.1097\/00020840-200306000-00002","article-title":"Functional dysphonia","volume":"11","author":"Roy","year":"2003","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Otolaryngol. Head. Neck Surg."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1867","DOI":"10.1044\/2022_JSLHR-21-00575","article-title":"Integrative review and framework of suggested mechanisms in primary muscle tension dysphonia","volume":"65","author":"Desjardins","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvoice.2020.04.032","article-title":"\u2018Malregulative\u2019 rather than \u2018Functional\u2019 Dysphonia: A new etiological terminology framework for phonation disorders-A position paper by the Union of European Phoniatricians (UEP)","volume":"36","author":"Hacki","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Voice."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.3109\/00016489309135839","article-title":"Muscle misuse voice disorders: Description and classification","volume":"113","author":"Morrison","year":"1993","journal-title":"Acta Otolaryngol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2177","DOI":"10.1044\/2020_JSLHR-20-00042","article-title":"Does more compression mean more pressure? A new classification for muscle tension dysphonia","volume":"63","author":"Garaycochea","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"887","DOI":"10.1044\/2018_AJSLP-17-0009","article-title":"Recommended protocols for instrumental assessment of voice: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association expert panel to develop a protocol for instrumental assessment of vocal function","volume":"27","author":"Patel","year":"2018","journal-title":"Am. J. Speech Lang. Pathol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5459","DOI":"10.1007\/s00405-023-08211-6","article-title":"Consensus for voice quality assessment in clinical practice: Guidelines of the European Laryngological Society and Union of the European Phoniatricians","volume":"280","author":"Lechien","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eur. Arch. Otorhinolaryngol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1288\/00005537-198601000-00001","article-title":"Diagnostic criteria in functional dysphonia","volume":"96","author":"Morrison","year":"1986","journal-title":"Laryngoscope"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"459","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvoice.2014.09.023","article-title":"Review on laryngeal palpation methods in muscle tension dysphonia: Validity and reliability issues","volume":"29","author":"Khoddami","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Voice"},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"32","article-title":"Evaluation of laryngeal palpation methods","volume":"Volume 3","author":"Maryn","year":"2016","journal-title":"Spanning in en Rond de Larynx: Stand van Zaken"},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Harris, T.M., Harris, S., Rubin, J.S., and Howard, D.M. (1998). Principles and techniques of manual therapy: Application in the management of dysphonia. The Voice Clinical Handbook, Whurr Publishers."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"921","DOI":"10.1007\/s00106-003-0909-8","article-title":"Validation of the German version of the Voice Handicap Index","volume":"51","author":"Nawka","year":"2003","journal-title":"HNO"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"e11","article-title":"The German restructured Vocal Fatigue Index and characteristics of dysphonic and vocally healthy populations","volume":"37","author":"Barsties","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Voice"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvoice.2016.05.006","article-title":"Transcultural adaptation and validation of the German version of the Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale","volume":"31","author":"Lukaschyk","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Voice"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1855","DOI":"10.1044\/2021_JSLHR-20-00462","article-title":"Cross-validation and normative values for the German Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale","volume":"64","author":"Lukaschyk","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Portney, L.G., and Watkins, M.P. (2000). Foundations of Clinical Research: Applications to Practice, Prentice-Hall. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Dollaghan, C.A. (2007). The Handbook for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders, Brookes Publishing Co."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Frey, L.R., Botan, C.H., Friedman, P.G., and Kreps, G. (1991). L. Investigating Communication: An Introduction to Research Methods, Prentice-Hall."}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/14\/17\/6309\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:41:22Z","timestamp":1760035282000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/14\/17\/6309"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,6]]},"references-count":25,"journal-issue":{"issue":"17","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]}},"alternative-id":["jcm14176309"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcm14176309","relation":{},"ISSN":["2077-0383"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2077-0383","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,6]]}}}