Music is not only an art form but a great tool for treating many diseases. This knowledge is successfully used by therapists. So don’t be surprised if your doctor advises you to listen instead of antibiotics … Strauss Waltz or Beethoven Sonata!
One beat
Music is known to have a huge impact on a person’s mood, conveying emotions. But how does it heal?
The human body is an ideally tuned mechanism. Each organ functions at its own pace, creating certain biorhythms. It is enough to knock one “wheel” out of stroke, and the whole system is out of balance.
Music, representing a harmonious change of tempo and rhythm, combining various tones, becomes a kind of body chamber. Acoustic waves, organized into a musical structure, affect the human psycho-emotional, spiritual realm, directly to the body surface and internal organs.
The health-enhancing musical effect is based on neurochemical reactions that mobilize the relevant brain areas to perform certain activities. Thus, music stimulates not only the central nervous system but also other vital physiological systems: cardiorespiratory, muscular, and digestive systems.
The benefits have been proven by testing
A pioneer in music therapy research, Professor S. Shushardzhan, a clinic at the University of Munich, calls therapy music a forerunner. They treat the digestive system, in addition to medication, with daily listening to works by Beethoven and Mozart.
In most cases, this significantly improves the condition of the patients and the ulcers heal quickly.
The Moscow Center for Music Therapy and Recovery Technology Research Center is developing and testing new methods.
In many clinical studies, it has been shown that listening to special medical music programs has a positive effect on patients’ mood and vital organ function, normalizes blood pressure and heart rate, and can reduce or completely block pain syndromes.
Musical medicines
Many diseases are caused by stress, nutrition, and sleep disorders. In such cases, the arsenal of music therapists includes anti-neurotic, antidepressant, and anti-stress programs.
Musical compositions for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, cardiovascular disorders (vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypertension) are selected.
Professor S. Shushardzhan has developed a vocal therapy approach to treat lung and heart disease, nerve disorders including stuttering. He created the world’s first vocal therapy theater where his patients and students sang.
Specialists offer a variety of prevention programs. There is a course for treatment of office staff working on hard or monotonous physical work. Special programs for dental offices have been developed.
Musical “medications” help ease the unpleasant procedure or improve the functioning of physiotherapy methods, speeding up rehabilitation.
Music also includes rejuvenating features! It regulates hormone levels in the blood and improves blood circulation. Specially designed music and therapeutic programs are broadcast through headphones as well as through special membranes attached to the skin’s problem areas.
These membranes are saturated with cosmetics. Acoustic and secondary electromagnetic waves penetrate the skin and stimulate regeneration processes.
Not just listening
Specialists distinguish between two forms of music therapy: passive and active. In the first case, the patient becomes a listener to the health record. Of course, physicians give priority to live sound, but visiting the Philharmonic also involves external stimuli.
That’s why doctors recommend listening to high-quality audio through headphones or in a specially equipped stereo system.
In the form of active music therapy, the patient sings or plays a musical instrument himself. Singing is especially beneficial for children because it stimulates the development of the respiratory system.
In addition, singing can help smokers cope with addiction. Vocal therapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of bronchial asthma. String, keyboards play a strong physical sound effect – the body begins to vibrate in unison.
Which musical style should be prioritized for one problem or another? In each case, different recommendations. But all experts agree on one thing – it should be a classic of different genres.
Still, amateur activities are not welcome. Only experts can make the right choice. Music programs must have a certificate of conformity.
It is important to understand that music therapy must be combined with the use of medication prescribed by doctors in order to cope more effectively with the disease.
