Gentle neck therapy may ease voice and swallowing troubles after thyroid removal
NCT ID NCT06383091
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding neck massage, stretches, and pain education to standard voice exercises can improve voice, swallowing, and scar quality after total thyroidectomy. Adults scheduled for total thyroid removal are invited to participate. They will attend sessions with a speech-language pathologist and complete home exercises. The goal is to see if this combined approach reduces common post-surgery complaints.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Manual therapy (neck massage, stretches, pain education, scar massage, voice exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this approach could offer a non-drug way to reduce voice and swallowing problems after thyroid removal, improving quality of life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 20 participants, so results may not apply widely. The added manual therapy may not provide significant benefit over standard voice exercises alone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * The study population consists of individuals with malignant or benign thyroid disease scheduled to undergo total thyroidectomy * native speakers of English * All patients will be greater than or equal to 18 years of age Exclusion Criteria: * Participants will be excluded if they have completed voice therapy prior * are current smokers * have organic vocal fold pathology or clear mucosal changes to the vocal folds that can affect vibration (e.g., vocal fold scar, polyp, or nodules), * pre-existing unilateral or bilateral vocal fold paralysis * have had prior surgical neck or chest history including central or lateral neck dissection * pre- or post-operative abscess or inflammation * have a history of head, neck, or chest radiation, diagnosed baseline oral or pharyngeal dysphagia * have recently started taking in the last 3 months, plan to start taking or increase the level of testosterone during the treatment period * greater than 10% otherwise unexplained weight loss * had a recent aspiration pneumonia
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Johns Hopkins Hospital
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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Suburban Hospital
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20817, United States
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