Sound Healing And Vibration Healing

Vibroacoustic Therapy Published Research

LATEST RESEARCH PUBLISHED

Hope for Fibromyalgia Patients Comes from VAT. Read the PDF: VAT and Fibromyalgia.

In this recent study from Canada, low frequency sound therapy (also known as VAT) showed no adverse effects and patients receiving the LFSS treatment showed statistically and clinically relevant improvement. Further phase 2 and 3 trials are warranted.

Low Frequency Vibratory Sounds Spark Neurite Outgrowth.
Dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), involve a progressive deterioration of
memory functioning mood disorders. Although the mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in AD are not clear, several investigators have reported an increase in AD patients’ self-expression following music therapy. This study examined the effect of low-frequency vibratory sound on neurite outgrowth and showed that low-frequency vibratory sounds of 20-100 Hz enhanced neurite outgrowth. Read the PDF: VAT and Alzheimer’s.

Arthritis

Juvenile: A study was conducted on children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), a chronic autoimmune disease that affects up to 1 in 1,000 children worldwide. The study concluded that vibroacoustic therapy is a revolutionary tool in the field of multidisciplinary management of chronic pain in JIA and triggered a noticeable diminution of the SDAI score, decreasing the disease activity from severe to moderate and resulted in a huge decrease in anxiety, chronic fatigability and depressive tendency compared to the control group.
Reference: Juvenile Arthritis Study Romania

Polyarthritis: Physiotherapists using vibroacoustic equipment have reported some relief of symptoms in patients suffering from polyarthritis, especially in smaller joints of the hands and chest.
Reference: Skille, O. (1989) Conditions responding well to treatment, cited in Skille, O. and Wigram, A. (1995) The effects of music, vocalization and vibrations on brain and muscle tissue: Studies in Vibroacoustic Therapy. In Wigram, A., Saperston, B. and West, R. (Eds) The Art and Science of Music Therapy: a Handbook. London: Harwood Academic.

Rheumatoid: A study by Chesky and Michel in Texas, USA found that stimulation of the Pacinian corpuscles initiated a physiological process resulting in significant pain relief of 64%. Persons with rheumatoid arthritis pain were provided music only, music and music vibration, or a placebo. The perception of pain reduction indicated greater changes in the music with music vibration condition. The total percentage reduction for music and vibration was 64%, music alone 24%, and placebo 2%.
Reference: Vibroacoustic Sound Therapy Improves Pain Management and More

Because vibroacoustic therapy and especially vibroacoustic therapy with music have such an enormous beneficial impact on the emotional state of the client receiving it, VAT can help alleviate depression and reduce the need for pharmaceuticals.
Reference:VibroAcoustic-Therapy-in-Treatment-of-Psychosomatic-Disorders-and-Depression

Recovery from Surgery or Trauma

Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery: Patients who underwent knee replacements or revisions produced a 21-percent reduction of tension after receiving VAT treatment post-surgically. Subjects in the experimental group went home an average of one half-day earlier, used fewer mg of pain medication, and expressed more satisfaction with the care they received than did control group subjects.

Physical Therapy: Vibroacoustics has a long history of experimentation in physical therapy. Treatment benefits include reduction of muscle tones, increased ROM, reduction of muscle spasticity, and sensory stimulation for patients with severe disabilities. Research at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA, showed that patients who were treated with VAT during physical therapy following total knee replacements showed greater passive range of motion. 66% of patients who were given the experimental treatment were able to achieve a 90-degree bend compared to 44 percent of the control subjects.

Cardiac Surgery: Heart surgeon Charles Butler, MD, PhD, and Penelope Johnson Butler, MD found in a New Jersey, USA study that there are significant benefits using physioacoustic vibrations during recovery from cardiovascular surgery. VAT intervention promoted the use of shorter-acting anesthetics and resulted in a decrease in the use of sedative and pain medications on these patients. The average ventilator-dependent time was reduced from 17 hours to 7 hours, time spent in the ICU was reduced from 36 hours to 18 hours, and the overall hospital stay was reduced from 9 days to an average of 5 days.
Reference: Vibroacoustic Sound Therapy Improves Pain Management and More

Sports Injuries:Therapists treating sports injuries have found vibroacoustic therapy a useful method of relieving pain. In over-use syndromes low frequency sound waves are reported to relieve pain and to reduce the length of the rehabilitation period. When treating injuries, it is advised that vibroacoustic therapy should not be used where there is any internal or external bleeding.
Reference: Skille, O., Wigram, A. and Weekes, L. (1989) Vibroacoustic Therapy: The Therapeutic Effect of Low Frequency Sound on Specific Physical Disorders and Disabilities. Journal of British Music Therapy. 3, 6-10.

The non-pharmacologic nature of vibroacoustics makes it an important pain management tool. While it may not work in every instance, it may reduce the need for pain medication and provide a pleasant alternative to medication. Its ease of use makes it a promising therapy for pain from any source including surgery, cancer, arthritis and trauma.

National Institutes of Health Study and Ongoing Treatment Program: In a program at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers attained more than 50% reduction of pain and other symptoms using VibroAcoustic technology. A program evaluation study, published in 1999, revealed a reduction of pain and other symptoms between 49% and 59% at the NIH. Because of this success, the VibroAcoustic program has been an ongoing patient and family treatment offering at the NIH for over eight years and continues to obtain these effective results. The facility has included vibroacoustic therapy as an integral part of its treatment for several years.
Reference: NIH Research Paper – NIH Website: Vibroacoustics at NIH

End of Life: Research with 25 patients in a hospice indicated that those who received vibroacoustic treatment used significantly less medication in 48 hours, experienced less discomfort, and reported lower pain intensity than those who did not receive the treatment.

Cancer Treatment: Nurses at the Ella Milbanks Foshay Cancer Center in Jupiter, Florida did a test program using vibroacoustics for cancer patients, many of whom indicated they appreciated the physical and mental relief experienced in the vibroacoustic music session and left feeling significantly better than when they arrived. In addition, the center’s nurses reported feeling a sense of satisfaction at having improved their patients’ treatment experience. Using the equipment proved to be easy and required little additional time.
Reference: Nurses Ease Pain in Cancer Center with Music

Cancer Treatment including Chemotherapy: Twenty women at Duke University Medical Center who had surgery for ovarian, endometrial, or cervical cancer experienced significant pain reduction with treatment. This and other studies were used as the basis for more research examining the effectiveness of vibroacoustic music for pain and symptom management in outpatient chemotherapy treatment.
Reference: Music and Learning

Patients easily fall asleep during treatment and they have reported that after treatment they have less difficulty in falling asleep at their normal time for retiring and the duration of sleep is longer than they normally experience. This led to specific use as therapy for insomnia. Treatment for insomnia has best effects when it is carried out in the late afternoon.
Reference: Skille, O. (1989) Conditions responding well to treatment, cited in Skille, O. and Wigram, A. (1995) The effects of music, vocalization and vibrations on brain and muscle tissue: Studies in Vibroacoustic Therapy. In Wigram, A., Saperston, B. and West, R. (Eds) The Art and Science of Music Therapy: a Handbook. London: Harwood Academic.

There is often a significant result in the reduction of systolic blood pressure after vibroacoustic therapy and patients suffering from severe circulatory deficiency in the extremities may find effective relief of this condition. These observations relate to polyclinical patients as well as to institutionalized patients with edema.
Reference: Skille, O. and Wigram, A. (1995) The effects of music, vocalization and vibrations on brain and muscle tissue. Studies in vibroacoustic therapy. In Wigram, A., Saperston, B. and West, R. (Eds.) The Art and Science of MusicTherapy: a Handbook. London: Harwood Academic.

Results have found vibroacoustic treatments to be extremely effective for reducing symptoms associated with Parkinson’s. Generally the effects of the treatment last 24 -48 hours.

For documentation on the earliest “vibration therapy” see this article about Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot and his vibratory chair which he used for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Reference: Scribd.com JeanMartin Charcot-vibratory chair for Parkinson disease

In 2009, a study by King, Lauren K., Almeida, Quincy J., Ahonen, H in Canada showed that
no major symptom category is left untouched by vibroacoustic therapy. UPDRS scores for tremor and rigidity both improved.
Reference: Parkinson’s Article Abstract