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Deepa
graduated in Arts, with child psychology as her specialization. With a
gifted voice, she went on to another graduation, in vocal classical music
(Sangeet Visharada) from Bal Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (University). She is
an alumni of Nada Brahma Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya, Mumbai founded by late
Pandita Indirabai Kelkar, a disciple of late Pandit B. V Paluskar. Deepa
had the privilege of lndirabai herself choosing her as her prime disciple.
Her advice, as a Guru, was to make music sound sweet to the listeners’
ears and make the common man happy rather than harp on intricacies of
classical music. She is currently pursuing research on music therapy.
Evidence
shows that listening to appropriate music lowers BP, stabilizes heart
rate, relieves depression, reduces pre-treatment anxiety, enhances
concentration and creativity, lessens the need for sedatives and
painkillers (during and after surgery), reduces nausea after chemotherapy,
manages pain and also improves stability of people with Parkinson’s
disease.
Surgery
Hearing
soothing music while under anesthesia eases patients’ recovery after
surgery — results of a Swedish study suggest. According to findings
published in a recent issue of a journal, ACTA, Anaesthesiologica
Scandinavica, women undergoing hysterectomies, under general anesthesia,
who listened to relaxing music and sounds of ocean waves, experienced less
pain and were less fatigued, when discharged from the hospital. They were
able to sit up sooner after their operation than patients, who did not
listen to such music.
Even though patients are unconscious, when under general anesthesia, brain
may remain aware of what happens during surgery, research suggests.
Because of this intra-operative awareness, patients may overhear the
remarks of doctors and nurses, which could lead to anxiety and
dissatisfaction after surgery. To protect patients from misinterpreted
comments, music (in combination with therapeutic suggestions) could be
provided to all patients, undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. It
is an inexpensive and safe intervention that can improve post-operative
outcome, such as pain and fatigue.
While medications can help reduce post-operative discomforts, they also
have side effects, including nausea.
A study was conducted by researchers at Case Western Reserve University at
Cleveland. It involved 500 patients, who underwent abdominal surgery,
during a 29-month period in one of the five Cleveland hospitals. The
participants in the study ranged from 18—70 year old and were randomly
assigned, to receive music, relaxation or a combination of both therapies.
This was the experimental group, whose parameters were compared with a
control group of patients, who received only standard surgical care. After
surgery, all participants received intravenous morphine or Demerol, which
was controlled by the patients pressing a button. The experimental group
reported less pain, both when walking and resting, on the first and the
second days after surgery and reported faster recovery than those in the
control group.
Premature
babies
Music
is used to treat premature children. Today, some doctors are even
integrating the calming effects of certain compositions in the treatment
of premature children.
Dr. Schwartz, an intensive care doctor at Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta
Georgia, has specialized in antenatal and post-natal care. Inside the
womb, the noise level is around 80 — 95 decibels — a sound almost as
loud as in a disco on a Saturday night. This is caused by the blood flow
in the placenta as well as the mother’s breathing and heartbeats. At
birth, the sudden loss of this noise is stressful for the child, which is
why Dr. Schwartz developed a kind of womb music.
Using highly sensitive microphones, he recorded the noises in his wife’s
womb, while she was pregnant, and mixed them in a studio with gentle music
and women’s voices. The highly encouraging effect of this composition,
on his own child, was that the baby went to sleep straight away, for a
longer period of time. This prompted Dr. Schwartz to test his transition
music on several premature babies. He explained that the neonates, who had
been exposed to the transition music, spent an average of three days less
in intensive care than otherwise.
Cancer Treatment
Listening
to music during chemotherapy can reduce fear and nervous tension in
patients. In a study, 70 test patients were asked to choose their favorite
music from a selection of 350 CDs, spanning a whole spectrum of musical
tastes. They were questioned, both before and after their musical
chemotherapy.
Most of the patients chose classical music. Mozart was the most popular
composer, followed by classical CDs, with a selection of relaxing
compositions, said American doctor Susan Weber.
Music has the power to influence body and soul. The sound of music can
alter the heart and respiration rate as well as brain and general well
being.
Blood Pressure
A
medical device for treating high BP that uses musical tones to guide a
patient’s breathing has produced positive results. This device was
clinically proven to reduce high BP, without side effects. An Israel firm
makes the product. It works by first automatically analyzing the user’s
breathing pattern, It then composes musical tones that guide the user to
effortlessly slow breathing from the normal 14— 18 breaths per minute to
the therapeutic zone of less than 10 breaths per minute, while prolonging
exhalation and lowering BP. The product is available by prescription, as a
supplementary treatment for high BP. A submission has been made to the US
FDA, for over the counter use.
In another trial, Italian researchers found that its users had significant
BP reductions over a control group, in addition to those already achieved
with medications. The effect of these treatments took three to four weeks
and those patients displayed good adherence to the treatment.
In second trial, a US team tested the efficacy and ease of its over the
counter conditions. The study showed that patients were able to use the
device properly, without prior training and established, for the first
time, a clear close response relationship between the amount of slow
breathing exercises using the device and the resulting decrease in BP.
Results showed that only 30 minutes per week of effective breathing was
enough to significantly lower BP.
Both studies were presented at one of the meetings of the American Society
of Hypertension in New York.
Conclusion
Music
therapy can thus help the medical fraternity in treating patients better.
Some experiments have been successfully conducted abroad. In India,
however, not many experiments appear to have been conducted and/or
recorded. It needs to be pursued in India.
Patient
monitors can be connected and observations recorded under varying musical
inputs, including ragas. It is desirable that the monitors have inherent
facilities for observing trends and making hard copy recordings.
It
is not necessary, however, to stick to only pure classical ragas. Film
music, which is very popular in India, also gives wide choices of known
tunes, based on appropriate ragas, for most ailments. In addition, bhajans,
light music, ghazals etc. may also be judiciously chosen to create the
right mood and effect. These generally go down better with the common man
as a patient.
A hospital in South Mumbai and a team in Nagpur have separately done some
laudable pioneering work in trying out music therapy. Alarmed by several
cases of heart failure while on duty, even Mumbai Police has resorted to
it, to reduce stress. Music therapy can be applied even to lessen the
effect of labor pains and offer simple remedies for headaches, common cold
and such other day-today problems. Hospitals, nursing homes and clinics
in India may, therefore, benefit by exploring the potential of music
therapy.
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