One of Aspire Home Health & Hospice’s unique services is music therapy. Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals. Achieving these goals can be done by listening and moving to music, singing, and creating music. We’re going to go over a few of the benefits music therapy can have.
- Stress Management
Listening to music is a relatively common form of stress management, even when done in a non-therapeutic context. Listening to music in the context of therapy with a trained professional is a constructive and effective form of stress management.
- Pain Management
In a study conducted by staff at the Malcolm Randall VAMC, researchers experimented to see the link between music therapy and pain management. After testing 44 people, 23 who received music therapy and 21 of whom were the non-music control group, the researchers found that the patients who received music therapy observed a more significant decrease in pain and anxiety than patients who did not. The difference wasn’t huge, but 87% of participants in the group who received music therapy said that listening to music was helpful to them.
- Muscle Relaxation
When I feel tense or have muscle aches, I take deep breaths and meditate. Music therapy isn’t exactly meditation because there are some key differences, but there are a few similarities. Music therapy can involve breathing or moving your body to music, helping relax muscles and relieve tension.
- Lower Blood Pressure
According to Medivizor, music therapy can lead to an average decrease of 6.58 mmHg in systolic blood pressure as well as a slight decrease in diastolic blood pressure. Increased blood pressure affects nearly 80% of people aged 65 and older, so music therapy can be a great addition to appropriately practiced medication prescribed by a doctor.
- Improve respiratory health
When I was young, I played the saxophone. When my teacher helped us improve breath control to hold more extended notes, they would have us breathe along to some music. Before long, my classmates and I had noticeable changes in our breathing and sustained notes for a longer time.
Breathing to music can apply this practice to music therapy as well. According to a study by the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, patients with pulmonary disorders who received music therapy in conjunction with standard rehabilitation saw an improvement in symptoms, psychological well-being, and quality of life.
I think it’s clear that music therapy has benefits, and I’m pleased to say that Aspire has some of the highest reviews for music therapy in Utah.
If you have more questions about music therapy or the other services Aspire offers, please give us a call. We’re here to help!
