Syd Uni sports clinic
21-09-2006, 09:01 AM
Normal this is caused by laryngeal trauma from a tackle, but an interesting alternate cause is listed below (from realfooty.com.au):
Doctors lost for words to cure voiceless Eagle
Steve Butler
September 21, 2006
WEST COAST vice-captain Andrew Embley has been forced to seek alternative treatment for the mystery vocal-cord paralysis that is threatening to hinder the rest of his finals series.
Embley, who has been unable to speak in more than a rasping whisper for five weeks, made an impressive return from a shoulder injury with 29 possessions in the Eagles' 74-point semi-final smashing of the Western Bulldogs at Subiaco Oval last Saturday night.
But 23 of those possessions were uncontested, including nine in the last quarter when the Bulldogs were dead and buried, and Embley admits his midfield role was limited because of his throat ailment.
Embley woke up with a sore throat before the round-19 clash with the Kangaroos. It developed into a chest infection and by the time the team played Brisbane the following week, his voice had vanished.
Ear, nose and throat surgeon Terence McManus, who is Embley's specialist, believed one of the 25-year-old's two vocal cords had been paralysed as a result of the virus and he could not predict when his voice would return.
McManus said Embley was suffering from vocal-cord palsy — a condition that was not rare, but also not common. He did not believe Embley would suffer any long-term problems.
"What happens is that the nerve which makes that vocal cord work becomes damaged by a virus so that you get a paralysis there," he said. "I expect his voice to make a full recovery, but we can't predict how long and it may take two or three months. There's no way to treat it, we just have to wait until it gets better.
"We're used to dramatic changes in medicine and transplanting hearts and lungs, but we still can't stop the common cold which is caused by a virus.
"Once the nerve starts functioning again, the impulses come back down the nerve. It's like cutting electric wire — the electricity won't get through to the light globe, but as it's repaired the electricity comes back down again."
Embley said his mystery ailment had been tough to the point where his daily conversations with his mum Anne had been restricted to text messaging and he had turned to herbal treatment to find a cure.
"There's no antibiotics they can give me and no treatment at all, so a few naturopaths have given me some stuff to take. I've gone outside the square a bit and I'll try anything at the moment," Embley whispered.
The recommendation from one naturopath has been hard to swallow.
"I've got no idea what's in it and it tastes horrendous, but believe it or not I'm starting to think it's actually working and I hope it (his voice) comes back soon," he said.
Embley has been cursed by injury in the past four seasons, missing a total of 17 matches in West Coast's lead-up to consecutive finals series.
But his shoulder injury from the round-21 western derby loss to Fremantle did not preclude him from important conditioning training and he said he felt his run was getting better as the game went on against the Bulldogs on Saturday.
He said he had developed a strong mind-set not to get despondent about things he could not control and hoped his voice loss would not prove a major obstacle for him when the Eagles meet Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Saturday for the right to play in the grand final. "Your first reaction is to yell and scream for the footy, but then you realise nothing comes out of your mouth. Then you revert to clapping and trying to get into the ball carrier's vision is probably the best thing to do," Embley said.
"Playing as a wingman you're always the sweeper around contests and you have to use your voice if any guys are in trouble so they can give the ball back to you. I didn't play much on the wing on the weekend and maybe that was because I couldn't really call or scream for the footy."
Several of Embley's teammates suggested his biggest issue was not being able to hear the sound of his own voice, especially as his doctor had advised him not to talk as much as he normally would.
Ruckman Dean Cox lamented that it seemed as if Embley had been trying to talk even more than normal — something he had previously thought impossible. Captain Chris Judd said there were clear on-field disadvantages from Embley losing his voice, but also described him as a "vastly better bloke" because of it.
Embley said he had endured a wave of ribbing from his teammates, especially from midfielder Chad Fletcher who often clapped his hands when attracting attention during a match.
"Fletch is the king of clapping. He claps a fair bit and told me I'm not allowed to because that's his signal," Embley said.
"It's been a bit humorous and the boys have been getting stuck into me. I think they've just been grateful that I haven't been talking as much crap."
WEST AUSTRALIAN
Doctors lost for words to cure voiceless Eagle
Steve Butler
September 21, 2006
WEST COAST vice-captain Andrew Embley has been forced to seek alternative treatment for the mystery vocal-cord paralysis that is threatening to hinder the rest of his finals series.
Embley, who has been unable to speak in more than a rasping whisper for five weeks, made an impressive return from a shoulder injury with 29 possessions in the Eagles' 74-point semi-final smashing of the Western Bulldogs at Subiaco Oval last Saturday night.
But 23 of those possessions were uncontested, including nine in the last quarter when the Bulldogs were dead and buried, and Embley admits his midfield role was limited because of his throat ailment.
Embley woke up with a sore throat before the round-19 clash with the Kangaroos. It developed into a chest infection and by the time the team played Brisbane the following week, his voice had vanished.
Ear, nose and throat surgeon Terence McManus, who is Embley's specialist, believed one of the 25-year-old's two vocal cords had been paralysed as a result of the virus and he could not predict when his voice would return.
McManus said Embley was suffering from vocal-cord palsy — a condition that was not rare, but also not common. He did not believe Embley would suffer any long-term problems.
"What happens is that the nerve which makes that vocal cord work becomes damaged by a virus so that you get a paralysis there," he said. "I expect his voice to make a full recovery, but we can't predict how long and it may take two or three months. There's no way to treat it, we just have to wait until it gets better.
"We're used to dramatic changes in medicine and transplanting hearts and lungs, but we still can't stop the common cold which is caused by a virus.
"Once the nerve starts functioning again, the impulses come back down the nerve. It's like cutting electric wire — the electricity won't get through to the light globe, but as it's repaired the electricity comes back down again."
Embley said his mystery ailment had been tough to the point where his daily conversations with his mum Anne had been restricted to text messaging and he had turned to herbal treatment to find a cure.
"There's no antibiotics they can give me and no treatment at all, so a few naturopaths have given me some stuff to take. I've gone outside the square a bit and I'll try anything at the moment," Embley whispered.
The recommendation from one naturopath has been hard to swallow.
"I've got no idea what's in it and it tastes horrendous, but believe it or not I'm starting to think it's actually working and I hope it (his voice) comes back soon," he said.
Embley has been cursed by injury in the past four seasons, missing a total of 17 matches in West Coast's lead-up to consecutive finals series.
But his shoulder injury from the round-21 western derby loss to Fremantle did not preclude him from important conditioning training and he said he felt his run was getting better as the game went on against the Bulldogs on Saturday.
He said he had developed a strong mind-set not to get despondent about things he could not control and hoped his voice loss would not prove a major obstacle for him when the Eagles meet Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Saturday for the right to play in the grand final. "Your first reaction is to yell and scream for the footy, but then you realise nothing comes out of your mouth. Then you revert to clapping and trying to get into the ball carrier's vision is probably the best thing to do," Embley said.
"Playing as a wingman you're always the sweeper around contests and you have to use your voice if any guys are in trouble so they can give the ball back to you. I didn't play much on the wing on the weekend and maybe that was because I couldn't really call or scream for the footy."
Several of Embley's teammates suggested his biggest issue was not being able to hear the sound of his own voice, especially as his doctor had advised him not to talk as much as he normally would.
Ruckman Dean Cox lamented that it seemed as if Embley had been trying to talk even more than normal — something he had previously thought impossible. Captain Chris Judd said there were clear on-field disadvantages from Embley losing his voice, but also described him as a "vastly better bloke" because of it.
Embley said he had endured a wave of ribbing from his teammates, especially from midfielder Chad Fletcher who often clapped his hands when attracting attention during a match.
"Fletch is the king of clapping. He claps a fair bit and told me I'm not allowed to because that's his signal," Embley said.
"It's been a bit humorous and the boys have been getting stuck into me. I think they've just been grateful that I haven't been talking as much crap."
WEST AUSTRALIAN