Justin Timberlake postpones show due to 'severely bruised' vocal cords: What is that, exactly?
Justin Timberlake announced on Wednesday that he had to cancel an upcoming show at Madison Square Garden in New York City due to damage to his vocal cords.
“Hey guys, I’m sorry to announce that I have to postpone the show at MSG tonight on doctor’s orders,” he wrote on Instagram. “My vocal chords are severely bruised.” However, he added, “I’m gonna make this up to you,” noting that a new show would be staged on Jan. 31, his birthday.
A post shared by Justin Timberlake (@justintimberlake) on Oct 24, 2018 at 1:26pm PDT
Fans flooded his comments with well-wishes. So what does it mean to have “severely bruised” vocal cords?
“Vocal cords are essentially delicate muscles covered by a skin layer,” Melin Tan-Geller, MD, an associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor) at ENT & Allergy Associates, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Like any other part of the body that is made of muscle, they can be bruised.”
“A bruising in the vocal cord typically means there are signs of trauma due to voice use,” Joseph DePietro, MD, an otolaryngologist with ENT and Allergy Associates in Sleepy Hollow, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Here, the use of the term ‘bruise’ suggests that there is a ruptured blood vessel under the skin lining of the vocal cord.”
This isn’t necessarily dangerous, DePietro says, but “if someone with this problem continues to use their voice often, it can lead to irreparable scarring of the vocal cords and lead to a change in voice quality for years to come.”
Symptoms generally include raspiness and strain when you use your voice, DePietro notes. “Sometimes these symptoms can occur right after a period of strenuous voice use, but not always,” he says. “Some people note more of a gradual change, eventually come in to the doctor, and this is discovered.”
When a person goes to the doctor, they’ll usually undergo something called a laryngoscopy, which involves looking at their vocal cords through a tiny camera inserted through their nose or mouth, Omid Mehdizadeh, MD, an otolaryngologist and laryngologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
Treatment generally involves voice rest (i.e. not using your voice for a set period of time), Mehdizadeh says. “That means no whispering, no talking, and no singing,” he says. “All those activities cause a vibration of the vocal cord, and vibration increases the risk of scarring.” A person can be on vocal rest for anywhere from a few weeks to even months, he says, but “definitely for first couple weeks, we say absolutely no talking.”
The recovery depends on a few factors, including “whether the bruising occurred suddenly or gradually over time, the extent of bruising, and the patient’s need for further voice use,” DePietro says. “For a high-level vocal professional such as this, treatment would typically involve multiple laryngoscopies to check on the bruising of the vocal folds and a slow but deliberate increase of vocal activity after the bruising has resolved.”
Timberlake’s next show is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28, in Buffalo, N.Y. No word yet if he’ll recover in time.
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