Table 1.
Neck tension palpation system. Reprinted with permission from Angsuwarangsee T, Morrison M. Extrinsic laryngeal muscular tension in patients with voice disorders. Journal of Voice. 2002; 16:333–34310.
| Rating | Description |
|---|---|
| Suprahyoid muscles | |
| 0 | soft at rest, may slightly contract on phonation |
| 1 | soft at rest, mild low-pitch and moderate high- pitch contraction |
| 2 | some tension at rest, tense with jaw protrusion on phonation |
| 3 | tense all the time, maximally tight on phonation |
| Thyrohyoid muscles | |
| 0 | no muscular contraction at rest, mild on phonation |
| 1 | soft thyrohyoid space at rest, some contraction on phonation |
| 2 | tense, narrow thyrohyoid space at rest, moderate contraction on phonation |
| 3 | very tense with closed thyrohyoid space all the time |
| Cricothyroid muscles | |
| 0 | normal cricothyroid space and phonatory movement |
| 1 | narrowing of cricothyroid space at rest, some movement on phonation |
| 2 | anterior displacement of cricoid cartilage with narrowing of cricothyroid space at rest, closing of the space on phonation |
| 3 | closed cricothyroid space all the time |
| Pharyngolaryngeal muscles | |
| 0 | soft, easy to rotate the larynx for 90° and palpate posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle and arytenoids movement on sniffing |
| 1 | slightly tense, cannot palpate PCA muscle movement on sniffing |
| 2 | moderately tense, difficult to rotate the larynx but still can palpate the posterior edge of thyroid cartilage |
| 3 | very tense, cannot rotate the larynx at all |