Noninvasive Therapeutic Approaches for Laryngeal Dystonia: A Scoping Review

The aim of this scoping review is to map and describe the noninvasive therapeutic interventions investigated for laryngeal dystonia, highlighting the treatments explored, their effects, and the gaps that remain in the literature.

This review was guided by the research question: "What noninvasive treatment strategies have been investigated for laryngeal dystonia, and what outcomes have been reported in clinical practice and research?" The electronic databases searched were: PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Lilacs, Scopus, and Web of Science. The search key used was: spasmodic dysphonia OR laryngeal dystonia AND treatment OR therapy OR intervention OR rehabilitation. The review used the PCC framework to structure the research question: Population (P): patients with laryngeal dystonia-Concept (C): noninvasive therapeutic approaches used for treatment-Context (C): clinical practice and research.

Study selection was performed independently by two reviewers through peer reading, including all full-text publications without restrictions on year of publication or language. Nonoriginal studies, nonlaryngeal conditions, and studies that did not assess a therapeutic intervention were excluded. The searches were conducted between May and December 2025, with no restrictions on year of publication or language.

Of the 3049 studies, 1524 duplicates were removed. Based on title and abstract screening and the selection criteria, 46 studies were selected for full-text reading, and 25 of them were included in this review. The noninvasive treatment strategies investigated for laryngeal dystonia found in this study were: Voice Therapy, GABAergic modulators, Neuromodulation Approaches, and Complementary Therapies. Overall, most interventions showed limited clinical benefit, with improvements that were generally small and short-lived.

Noninvasive treatments for laryngeal dystonia remain in early stages of investigation. Preliminary evidence suggests potential benefits from neuromodulatory, although current studies are limited by small samples and heterogeneous designs. But the growing number of studies in recent years, especially in 2025, highlights increasing scientific interest and the emerging therapeutic potential.