Cerebral Palsy and

VAT

Applications of VAT

What our patients

experienced with

VAT

Music Care Confer-

ence 2013

Inside this issue:

NEWSLETTER October 2013

Issue 7

Cerebral Palsy and Sound Therapy

Cerebral palsy is a name given to a group of different nervous system disorders that are present at birth or appear in the first 3 years of

life. What they have in common is that the underlying brain damage doesn't get worse over the years. They also all cause some degree of dam-

age in the motor neurons of the brain, affecting coordination and muscle strength.

Cerebral palsy or CP affects somewhere between 1 in 500 and 1 in 1,000 newborns, though some of them are only mildly affected. The risk

is highest in premature and underweight babies.

Since no two children are affected by Cerebral Palsy in the same way, treatment and therapy programs vary, so there are many different

therapy options to help children with CP live more independent lives, ranging from physical therapy to occupational therapy. Recently there

was a study conducted by University of Auckland-Liggins Institute in New Zealand and presented at The Endocrine Societys 95th Annual Meet-

ing in San Francisco about using Whole Body Vibration Therapy to help increase the bone strength in adolescents with Cerebral Palsy.

This new study revealed that Whole Body Vibration Therapy is a promising approach for helping to

improve mobility. Also, another Recent study done in Croatia published 2013 in the journal of Neuro

Rehabilitation revealed that vibration therapy may decrease spasticity and improve motor perfor-

mance in children with CP. The results of the present trial serve as valuable input for evidence-based

treatments in paediatric neuro -rehabilitation.

Another study conducted in 2011 by researchers in Zagreb and published in Collegium antropologi-

cum has shown that there was a significant improvement in motor performance, what has been seen

in the facilitation of rotations, better postural trunk stability and head control and in greater selectivity of movements. Further randomized,

control trial investigations with bigger sample and included spasm scale are needed to gain better insight in the role of vibrotactile stimulation

in the facilitation of normal movements.

The above researchers explained the vibration affects in details: Afferent signals from the muscle's proprioceptors play important role in the

control of muscle tone and in the facilitation of movements. Peripheral afferent pathway enables the restoration of connections with

supraspinal structures and so includes mechanism of synaptic inhibition in the performance of normal movement. Different sensory stimuli,

as vibrotactile stimulation, excite muscle's proprioceptors which then send sensorimotor information via spinal cord. In this way afferent

signals promote cortical control and modulation of movements. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effects of vibrotactile stimulation on

the spasticity and motor performance in children with cerebral injury.

You can learn more about Cerebral Palsy and low frequency sound therapy or VAT effects on it by visiting our website at:

www. thesoundtherapycentre.com

http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=328&channel_id=2003&relation_id=11608%20&icn=gillette&ici=smartlink_hyperhidrosishttp://www.liggins.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/

Our team of health care pro-

fessionals and vibroacoustic-therapists have been conduct-

ing a clinical study about

Fibromyalgia: "The role of

Vibroacoustic Therapy (VAT)

in the treatment of patients

with Fibromyalgia" in collab-oration with Wilfrid Laurier

University and University of

Toronto.

Since March 2012 , we had many patients who participated

in our study, received VAT and finished their course of therapy

successfully. Our preliminary

results have been very satisfy-ing and consistent with other

researchers findings in differ-

ent areas of the world. In our

centre, VAT has been suc-

cessful to reduce pain be-

tween 45 85% in most cas-

es. Also patients have been

reporting noticeable im-

provements in their sleep,

mood and activity of daily

living pattern. Many of these patients were able to reduce

the dosage or discontinue tak-

ing their pain killers and anti-

depressants. Some are starting to go back to work after few

years of being on disability. The Fibromyalgia study is still going

on in our centre.

Page 2 NEWSLETTER October 2013

What our patients experienced with Vibroacoustic Therapy (VAT)

Music Care Conference and Research Symposia 2013

Applications of VAT VAT has a positive effect

on controlling

stress hormones

and brain wave

activity. It can

play an

important role in

managing

depression and

anxiety

symptoms

Clinical studies have shown

Vibroacoustic Therapy to be

effective in treating different

medical conditions.

Patients should know that

they should continue with

their medications unless advised by their physicians,

VAT is used as an adjunct to

the therapies they re-ceive.VAT has been in use in

rehabilitation clinics to im-

prove the quality of life and

functioning of patients after

stroke. In patients with Park-insons disease, treatment

with VAT will reduce the stiffness, tremor and rigidity. After sustaining

fractures, using VAT will

improve and facilitate heal-ing process. In patients suffering from

Tinnitus, using combination of 10 Hz and 40 Hz may have

a beneficial effect to reduce

symptoms. Arthritic pain and

chronic pain will be mini-mized by using specific fre-

quencies according to the joint and area of involve-

ment. In patients with Asth-

ma, COPD using certain fre-

quencies will relieve the

spasm and reduce tightening of the airways. In general,

VAT is a useful therapy to

improve mood and reduce

symptoms of anxiety.

Samina (Fibromyalgia)

I am the mother of three children. My eldest daughter is happily married and my two sons are in

university. Two years ago I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

Last year, I had 12 sessions of sound therapy and it decreased my aches for seven months.

However, the pain not only came back but it gradually increased compared to last year.

Consequently I decided to take more sessions this year. The additional sessions helped reduce my pain.

Currently, I feel that my muscles are relaxed and moreover my fatigue has decreased.

I am thankful for the staff at the Vibroacoustic Therapy Clinic for helping me.

The Music Care Conference, November 9, 2013 is a full day Conference intended for doctors, nurses, social workers, religious workers,

family caregivers, long term care workers and many others interested in learning more about the potential and practice of using music in

the context of care. Friday November 8, 1:00 5:00 pm. Music and Neurodegenerative Conditions

Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, Harvard University, Frank Russo, Ryerson University, Quincy Almeida, Laurier University, Bernhard Ross, Baycrest, Takako Fujioka,

Stanford University, and Vera Brandes, Paracelsus University, Austria.

Sunday November 10, 9:00 12:00 Music and Quality of Life

Sunday November 10. 1:30 5:00 Music and Pain

Dr. Ralph Spintge, Germany, Joanne Loewy, New York, and recent MaHRC research by Larry Picard, Lili Naghdi, etc.

For more information please visit: http://musiccareconference.ca/

The Sound Therapy Centre of Vaughan 2810 Major MacKenzie Dr., Maple, ON, L6A 1R8 (905)832-4346

http://www.wlu.ca/http://www.wlu.ca/http://www.utoronto.ca/http://www.utoronto.ca/http://musiccareconference.ca/