Music Therapy

In the early sass’s several associations, such as The National Society of Musical Therapeutics (1 903), The National Association or Music in Hospitals (1 926), and The National Foundation of Music Therapy (1941), formed in the hopes of making music therapy a more common practice. However, these groups were unsuccessful in their attempts. It wasn’t until the mid-1900 that the U. S.

Veterans Administration formally used music therapy to treat shell shock in World War II, which in turn helped revive the practice of musical therapy.In 1944 musical therapy officially became a college degree starting at Michigan State University. Since then, musical therapy has developed as a field of study and has been used to treat all kinds f illnesses and disabilities. It can be used to treat such a wide variety of health issues ranging from heart disease to psychiatric disorders. The broad scope of musical therapy makes it a popular treatment method for all kinds of disorders.

Musical therapy is used to treat neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, amnesia, dementia, Listener’s, Parkinson disease, depression, aphasia, speech disorders, and Trustee’s.It can also be used to treat dementia, amnesia, and stroke victims.

Musical therapy can even be used to treat something as severe as cancer. Cancer has become a wide- bread problem in America. In 201 3, 306,920 Men and 273,430 Women passed with lung and bronchus being the most prevalent cancer to kill. Chemotherapy is a common treatment for cancer patients. Most chemotherapy patients are confined to a hospital this disruption can cause discomfort and unease that music therapy can help alleviate. Cancer is one of the most well-known deadly diseases.Patients often feel many side effects from the two treatments offered, chemotherapy and radiation.

Music therapy helps to improve mental, physical, and psychological well-being by helping intro stress, ease pain, develop memory, lower heart rates, decrease sleepiness, help patients communicate and express feelings, lessen blood pressure, support physical rehabilitation, reduce depression, and decrease breathing rates. There have been many clinical studies to prove that musical therapy helps improve the well-being of cancer patients.One study showed that while the short term quality of life for cancer patients during radiation treatment was enhanced the long term quality of life decreased when attempting to overcome emotional distress. Certain symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and pain were not affected long term. Another study showed that during and after music therapy stress hormones, and brain waves and circulation are affected. The ‘Mozart effect’ shows activity in certain parts of the brain when people are listening to Mozart. Studies show that patients that listen to Mozart show improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities.

This study only works as a short-term solution, not long-term. Dependence on pain medications has become a huge problem in the cancer society. Musical therapy helps to reduce the dependency on these drugs. This is because neurotransmitters send sensations of pain and music directly to the brain. What this means is, neither the pain or music response can reach the brain fully causing the patient to feel muted sensations for both. This causes the patient to be less aware of the pain they are feeling. Being physically in tune to music can help dilate veins and relax muscles.

This can make bone marrow transfusions as well as other procedures a smoother experience for patients. Music can create motivation for patients to push homeless and have a much quicker rehabilitation recovery. This in turn pairs with physical therapy and helps patients on the road to recovery. A common misconception of musical therapy is the type of music being played. Most people automatically assume that musical therapy refers to classical music, which is not the case. Most patients choose the genre Of music they can best relate to or most enjoy rather than the most well-known symphony.Patients are encouraged to listen, write, and perform music they are most interested in to help enervate the person both physically and mentally.

Losing more familiar genre can help improve a patients comfort level because they are familiar with the musical harmonies and rhythms. Reaching a patient on a comfort level can affect their well-being in a positive manner that no drug could ever imitate. Comfort is an important part of recovery because a positive attitude can help speed recovery and lessen pain symptoms. While studies show that classical music may have other benefits, music that makes the patient comfortable is best for therapy.It is speculated that classical music lowers anxiety, reduces pain, lessens blood pressure, heightens motions, and helps with insomnia. Cancer patients could benefit from these things and would most likely profit from listening to some classical music. This is not to say that they should only listen to classical music, but a mixture of what they prefer as well as the classics.

These combinations would provide them with the benefits they need and expect from musical therapy as well as the comfort and joy they receive from listening and performing their favorite music.