Singing therapy provides effective relief for supragastric belching patients

A new randomized clinical trial suggests that singing therapy may provide a more effective and engaging treatment option than standard breathing exercises for people with supragastric belching, a chronic gastrointestinal disorder that can significantly affect quality of life. 

The study, which will be published in the American Gastroenterological Association’s journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate singing therapy for supragastric belching. This condition causes rapid, excessive belching – sometimes hundreds to thousands of times a day – as air repeatedly enters and exits the esophagus rather than the stomach. Researchers found that structured singing therapy provided significantly greater short-term symptom relief compared with diaphragmatic breathing therapy, the current first-line behavioral treatment for the condition. 

The study included 72 adults diagnosed with supragastric belching who were randomly assigned to receive either structured singing therapy or diaphragmatic breathing therapy. Participants completed treatment and were followed for one month to assess symptom severity, quality of life, and treatment acceptability. 

After one week, 72.2% of patients receiving singing therapy achieved at least a 50% reduction in symptom severity compared with 38.9% of patients receiving diaphragmatic breathing therapy. At one-month follow-up, response rates remained higher among patients receiving singing therapy (50% vs. 30.6%). 

Patients receiving singing therapy also experienced greater improvements in quality of life and were more likely to describe the intervention as enjoyable. 

Researchers explored singing therapy as an alternative approach because it combines respiratory control with an interactive activity that may be easier for patients to engage with over time. The study found that both singing therapy and diaphragmatic breathing improved symptoms, but singing therapy provided greater and more sustained benefits. 

The study identified three predictors of treatment response: receiving singing therapy, older age, and greater baseline symptom severity. Researchers noted that older patients and those with more severe symptoms may be particularly likely to benefit from the intervention. 

The researchers note several limitations, including the short follow-up period, enrollment of participants from a single cultural population, and the inability to blind participants to the behavioral interventions. Future studies are needed to evaluate long-term outcomes and determine how singing therapy can be adapted for broader populations.