Recent years have witnessed the application of music as a therapeutic intervention has come to be recognized only for the past four decades or so.
Music therapy is thus, the way music and musical activities are employed so as to facilitate physical, cognitive, communicative or psychological improvement in patients. Recent developments include the use of music even in the care of people with cancer and HIV, apart from using it in pain relief and in neuro-rehabilitation.
In this context, the brain scientists have made significant contributions towards the relevance of music therapy as a medical intervention. Their research has discussed the relevance of music in hemispheric lateralization. These research works suggest that the speech centre is located in the left hemisphere of the brain and expressivity in the right one. In comparison of musicians with non-musicians, it is shown that musically trained persons listen to music with a left trained persons listen to music with a left hemisphere basis, while non-musicians listen with a right hemisphere orientation. There is yet another suggestion that music processing is done in both hemispheres.
Music Therapy in Physical Rehabilitation
It is well-established now that music can stimulate motor activity and thereby the persistence in physical and functional tasks. The traditional example is the military band playing for the marching soldiers, which makes them overcome their fatigue and routineness significantly. In recent years, many physiotherapists and occupational therapists have gone for music as an essential aid or accompaniment to movement activities-more particularly in gait training, for the treatment of people affected by stroke and Parkinson’s disease.
The number of steps per minute (the gait cadence) is measured and music with a strong rhythmic impulse is set to match this gait tempo. Tailor-made, home training tapes and CDs have made this training economical and easy, which are aimed at improving muscle strength and finer motor coordination.
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Nov. 16, 2021