Vibroacoustic Therapy Music can be used the affect the mind and body of a person in many different ways. One way to use music is in the field of medicine, which is a fairly new use of the art. One use of music in the medical field is vibrations in what is called vibroacoustic therapy, or vat. Vat can be used to treat various physical illnesses and injuries, while also known for treating mental illnesses. Some examples of what vat is used to treat include Fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, depression, heel spurs, recovery from surgery or trauma, pain and anxiety reduction, insomnia, circulation and blood pressure, and Parkinson’s Disease. Through the use of clinical studies, it has been proven that vibroacoustic therapy has the potential …show more content…
The same medical doctor then examined the participants’ ability to sit and stand without pain (measured as length of time in minutes) based on participant self-report, referenced to tasks such as watching television or washing dishes. No standardized scale was used. Each subject was then examined separately by a doctor of chiropractic medicine to determine range of motion (ROM) and muscle tone in different areas of their body. Each subject then completed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) , the Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS) and the Pain Disability Index (PDI) . This comprehensive pretreatment assessment was performed as an indicator of steady baseline condition on which to make treatment effect …show more content…
Since the study only included 19 female volunteers, it is not possible to generalize the results for all people. The results were based on a fairly small group of volunteers, which also did not consist of any males. It is true that Fibromyalgia is seen predominantly in females, there is still a small percentage of males that suffer from the disorder. This is also true for all studies based on vibroacoustic therapy and vibrations as therapy. There simply has not been enough research and experiments conducted to generalize the effects of vat. Although there is not much work done on the topic, it does show potential, especially since it has been documented that ancient civilizations have used low frequency sounds as a source of medicine. The first known people to use this form of treatment were the Aborigines in Australia. The Aborigines used a yidaki, or didgeridoo, which was a man-made instrument that involved someone blowing air into it, resulting in a low frequency sound. This was used to heal broken bones, muscle tears, and stabilize the mentally ill. The Egyptians had a similar method in which a priestess used a sistra, which was accompanied by a harp. This was done in a space where the sounds would amplify and not only provided a pleasing sound, but it also created ultrasound. This is clearly a form of treatments, since even today hospitals and clinics