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Music for National Colorectal Cancer Month

March 20th, 2010 · No Comments

Introduction
Colorectal cancer is cancer of the colon or rectum. It is equally common in men and women. An estimated 146,970 people will be diagnosed in 2009, and an estimated 49,920 people will die from the disease. With recommended screening, this cancer can be prevented (by removing polyps before they become cancerous) or detected early, when it can be more easily and successfully treated.

At Risk

•Men and women age 50 and older
•People who use tobacco, are obese or are sedentary
•People with a personal or family history of colorectal cancer or benign (not cancerous) colorectal polyps
•People with a personal or family history of inflammatory bowel disease, such as long standing ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
•People with a family history of inherited colorectal cancer
Risk Reduction

•Be physically active and exercise regularly.
•Maintain a healthy weight.
•Eat a high-fiber diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and whole grains.
•Consume calcium-rich foods like low-fat or skim milk.
•Limit red meat consumption and avoid processed meats.
•Don’t smoke.
•Don’t drink alcohol excessively.
Early Detection
If you are at average risk for colorectal cancer, start having regular screening at age 50. If you are at greater risk, you may need to begin regular screening at an earlier age. The best time to get screened is before any symptoms appear. Use this guide to help you discuss screening options with your health care professional. Consider one of the following:

Screening intervals for tests that find pre-cancer and cancer:

•Colonoscopy: Every 10 years
•Virtual colonoscopy: Every 5 years
•Flexible sigmoidoscopy: Every 5 years
•Double-contrast barium enema: Every 5 years
Screening intervals for tests that mainly find cancer:

•Fecal occult blood test (FOBT): Every year
•Fecal immunochemical test (FIT): Every year
•Stool DNA test (sDNA): Ask your health care professional
Any abnormal result of a virtual colonoscopy or double-contrast barium enema, as well as a positive FOBT, FIT or sDNA test, should be followed up with a colonoscopy.

Symptoms
Early stages of colorectal cancer do not usually have symptoms. Advanced disease may cause:

•Rectal bleeding or blood in or on the stool
•Change in bowel habits or stools that are narrower than usual
•Stomach discomfort (bloating, fullness or cramps)
•Diarrhea, constipation or feeling that the bowel does not empty completely
•Weight loss for no apparent reason
•Constant fatigue
•Vomiting
Treatment
Surgery is the most common treatment. When the cancer has spread, chemotherapy or radiation therapy is given before or after surgery.

During this very important month for screening and awareness, Peter Yarrow of the 60’s-70’s group “Peter, Paul and Mary,” wrote this humorous song about getting a colonoscopy. Hum it to yourself this month and then ask yourself if it’s time for YOU to get a colonoscopy!

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Meet Derek, savant pianist from England

March 15th, 2010 · 1 Comment

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Yo-Yo Ma Knows the Healing Power of Music

March 14th, 2010 · No Comments

In 1961, Pablo Casals played for John F. Kennedy at the White House. The concert could be seen as a symbol of the importance of the arts to the Kennedy administration, or as a gesture of honor to a great cellist.

But there’s no question, when the concert is re-created next year as part of the Kennedy Center’s tribute to the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s inauguration, about who will represent Casals. When there’s a commemorative event that calls for classical music, Yo-Yo Ma is almost sure to be the person playing it.

In every generation, a few musicians reach a level of fame that takes them into an orbit beyond their art. They become iconic, like Pavarotti; they become spokesmen, like Bono; they come, at the very least, to represent their field to a wider public.

Ma, 54, has certainly reached this level. He’s one of the most recognizable classical musicians on the planet. Extroverted and smart, he’s a natural spokesman for the arts. It’s almost a matter of course that he represents classical music on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and is a U.N. peace ambassador.

Ara Guzelimian, dean of the Juilliard School and former artistic adviser for Carnegie Hall, has known Ma since the 1970s. “I think in Yo-Yo’s case,” he says, “all of the things he does and his public role have helped keep reinventing him as a musician. That’s not only kept him alive, but fresh.”

“I just finished playing a bunch of recitals with him,” said pianist Emanuel Ax, one of Ma’s earliest and most frequent collaborators, speaking by phone last week from Europe. “I think he’s playing better than he’s ever played.”

If Ma weren’t a cellist, he could be a world-class politician. His gift for connecting with people is stunning. Some stars have a presence that commands attention; Ma, by contrast, makes you feel like his best friend, whether you’re an orchestra musician, one of the backstage crew or the owner of the restaurant Henrietta’s Table in Cambridge, a town where he and his wife, Jill Hornor, a German professor whom he met as a teenager at the Marlboro music school in Vermont, have lived for decades.

By Anne Midgette
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 14, 2010 (excerpted)

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Using Music to Ease Patient Stress During Surgery

March 10th, 2010 · No Comments

For as long as humans have pounded drums and plucked strings, listening to music has affected people’s sense of well-being, lifting their spirits and — as new research shows — calming their nerves. Literally. According to a study at Cleveland Clinic, music can slow the neuronal firings deep within the brain during surgery designed to treat Parkinson’s patients.

The seeds of this study were planted about two years ago, when a patient named Damir Janigro was being prepped for spinal surgery. Janigro, who is also a neuroscientist at the clinic, lay captive to the nerve-racking din of the operating room and in his frazzled state thought about how dentists often give their patients earphones to help ease anxiety. (See the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2008.)

If people getting root canals merited a musical intervention, he thought, why not people undergoing brain surgery? Patients with conditions such as epilepsy, brain tumors, severe depression, and obsessive-compulsive and motor disorders like Parkinson’s have to be awake for surgical procedures that often take several hours. Janigro and his team decided to use that wakeful period to determine whether music made the subjects’ experience in the operating room less stressful.

He will present his findings on Oct. 30 as part of a symposium in New York City on music and the brain. The son of a world-renowned cellist, Janigro specializes in studying epilepsy and is associated with Cleveland Clinic’s Arts and Medicine Institute, which is working to advance our understanding of how music can do such things as help decrease pain and blood pressure and improve movement in Parkinson’s patients.

The medical community has long been interested in how the brain is affected by music. Historically, however, most research was linked to the cortex, the brain’s outer layer, which is associated with functions like memory, consciousness and abstract thought.

In those studies, neurosurgical patients, wide awake with their cortex exposed, listened to certain sounds and music. While their neural activity was being recorded, they told researchers how those selections made them feel.

Janigro wanted to perform similar studies on motor centers deep within the brain. Because music is often associated with movement — like tapping one’s feet — he theorized that music could be used to modify the activity of thalamic and subthalamic neurons, which are located in the same area where a neuronal pacemaker is implanted during deep-brain stimulation.

In Janigro’s study, more than a dozen neurosurgical patients, predominantly with Parkinson’s, listened to three musical selections — rhythmic music with no discernible melody (by Gyorgi Ligeti, of Stanley Kubrick–movie fame), melodic music with undefined rhythm (by Aaron Jay Kernis, a Pulitzer Prize winner) and something in between (Ludwig van Beethoven). In the later stages of the research, to prevent familiarity from swaying the subjects’ responses, music was specifically composed for the study by students from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

In the end, patients almost unanimously said the purely melodic offerings were the most soothing. But the recordings of their brain activity were eye-opening. (Read “The Year in Medicine 2008: From A to Z.”)

Listening to melodic music decreased the activity of individual neurons in the deep brain, says Janigro, adding that the physical responses to the calming music ranged from patients’ closing their eyes to falling asleep. Some patients even settled into a nice round of snoring. And when lead neurosurgeon Ali Rezai needed patients to perform an action, such as lifting a limb, during the procedures, he simply removed their earphones and relayed instructions. Once the music resumed, patients returned to their snoozing.

These are very desirable results, says Janigro. With the right music, he says, patients can be more relaxed in the operating room. And that relaxation may mean not only that procedures involve less medication — to control blood pressure, which increases with stress — but perhaps that patients have quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays.

Janigro anticipates that following institutional approval, music will be used during certain neurosurgical procedures at the clinic as early as 2010. He hopes other hospitals will soon follow Cleveland’s lead. “This type of surgery can be a traumatizing experience, and using music can decrease anxiety,” he notes.

And you can’t beat the cost.

With health-care expenditures through the roof, this patient benefit is practically free, says Janigro, who used his own iPod and that of a colleague’s to pump in the music for the study. “The clinic doesn’t have a budget for iPods yet, but soon I think we will. It’s a no-brainer,” he says. “There’s nothing more calming than sleep.”
By Coeli Carr

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A Day with Music Therapy Pioneer, Clive Robbins

March 5th, 2010 · 1 Comment

A Day with Dr. Clive Robbins, Music Therapy Pioneer

This morning I had the distinct pleasure of spending a morning in a wonderful workshop at the U of L School of Music, listening to and learning from Dr. Clive Robbins, who has spent his life working with handicapped children and using music therapy to transform their lives. If you’re interested in learning more about him and his work with Paul Nordoff, go to http://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/

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Anesthetists’ Hymn: Humor, not serious!

March 3rd, 2010 · No Comments

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Surgical Serenity Headphones FAQ

March 2nd, 2010 · No Comments


Surgical Headphones FAQ

The headphones have been on the market for almost a year now and I’m selling them (and the download) primarily to individuals.  Once the data is gathered and the proof of their efficacy is undeniable, I will begin marketing them to hospitals and surgical centers, in earnest. 

What I’ve noticed so far is that certain questions come up over and over.  I thought I would share them, and my response, with you now.

FAQ’s for Surgical Headphones
1.  Q.  Why do I need to get your surgical headphones?  Why can’t I just use my iPod?
     A.  Of course you can use your iPod (if your surgeon agrees).  The main reason to use my headphones is that there are no wires or cords to get in the way of medical devices being used and more importantly…the music has been especially chosen and sequenced by a clinical musicologist who has been studying what the best music for surgery is for 20 years!
2.   Q How do the headphones fit on my head?

      A The headphones fit behind the neck and hook over the ears. Both earpieces are padded and the headset is very comfortable.

3.  Q  Can the headphones also be used at home?

     A.  Absolutely! The headphones can be used anywhere, including outdoors, during exercise of any kind, or in bed.

4.   Q.  Can I change the music on the headphones later if I want to put some of my favorite music on them?

      A.  Yes you can.  You can completely remove the surgery music or you can leave it there and add 6-8 more hours of your own favorite music for relaxation, energizing, exercising or whatever you wish.

5.  Q.  Will the headphones be sterilized before surgery?
     A.  Your headphones will be brand-new when you receive them and won’t need to be sterilized.  You will probably try them out several times before your procedure to be sure you now how to turn them off and on as well as recharge them.  You might want to wipe them down with a disinfectant before you arrive at the hospital, but nothing else is necessary!

6.  Q.  How soon should I order them before my procedure?
    A.  It’s a good idea to order them as soon as you know you’re having surgery so that you can get familiar with them and even listen to the music numerous times.  However, they are very easy to operate and all you really need to know is how to turn them on.

7.  Q.  How long will the music play?
     A.  The music will play for 7-8 hours without needing to be recharged!  The surgery track is about an hour long and will repeat continuously until they are turned off!

I’m sure there are many more questions you might have, and feel free to contact me through the comment option on this blog or from my website http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/

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The Brain and Music: A Therapeutic Duet

February 23rd, 2010 · 1 Comment

“Zip-a-dee doo dah, Zip-a-dee-ay …”

–A. Wrubel, R. Gilbert

“Do-wah diddy-diddy dum diddy-do …”

–The Moffats

“Super-cali-fragilistic-expialidocious …”

–The Sherman Brothers

“What an odd thing it is to see an entire species–billions of people–playing with, listening to, meaningless tonal patterns, occupied and preoccupied for much of their time by what they call ‘music.”‘

–Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia

“Music is playing inside my head, I Over and over and over again, My friend, there’s no end to the music …”

–Carole King

Throughout human history and in all known cultures, people have been immersed in music. Humans passionately create, listen to and dance to it. We Americans, most of whom have no particular musical talent, spend hours daily listening to music on car radios and MP3 players, and as background in offices, homes, TV shows and movies.

The fact that music is such an integral part of being human raises intriguing questions, some of which are relevant to MS. Does the brain have specific regions that respond to music? Could people who have conditions that affect the brain, such as MS, obtain therapeutic effects from music?

The neuroanatomy of music

Music is experienced through the simultaneous activation of a remarkable number of brain regions. Listening to music involves two major processes–perception and emotional response. Through perception we recognize music’s physical characteristics–the rhythm, harmony and tone. Our emotional response evokes feelings–sadness, happiness, relaxation and more. The two processes, perceiving and feeling, activate multiple brain regions that are interconnected through complex and vast networks. They range from the front of the brain (frontal lobes) to the back (cerebellum), from top (motor cortex) to the bottom (amygdala), and from outer surface (auditory cortex) to the inner core (nucleus accumbens and hippocampus). Creating or dancing to music activates an even greater number of brain regions.

Importantly, perceiving and feeling music are two distinct processes. For example, there are people who are gifted at perceiving music, such as those with absolute pitch, but who are indifferent to its emotional effects. The reverse is true as well (and is more common)–there are many people who have little or no musical talent, including those who are tone-deaf, who are passionate about music. In other words, you don’t need to be musical to be strongly affected by music and potentially to benefit from its therapeutic effects.

Why do we like music?

“I know it’s only rock ‘n’ roll but I like it, like it, yes I do …”–The Rolling Stones

The widespread activity in the brain that music arouses suggests that music serves a critical role in human existence. Some have proposed that music actually preceded language in human evolution, thus making it a core characteristic or instinct. There is considerable evidence that music is involved in sexual attraction, especially for men trying to attract women. (However, playing the clarinet in my high school band didn’t seem to make me a chick magnet.) Music may, in a more general sense, promote social bonding and may also be important for cognitive development.

Music as medicine: studies in MS and other conditions

“‘Cause music’s been my therapy, Taking the pain from all my anatomy …”–Marvin Gaye

“Music is the medicine of the mind.”–John Logan

It is thought that music may act as a sort of tonic or jump-starter to activate or improve neurological function. MS may be particularly well-suited to respond to music therapy. Each person with MS has a unique collection of brain lesions that produces a unique collection of symptoms.

Music may be capable of accessing diverse brain regions in an individualized way.

Researchers have studied music therapy in MS and other neurological conditions, but most of the studies done so far have had limitations, such as small numbers of participants. Even so, it appears that music might alleviate a remarkably wide range of MS-related symptoms:

* Stress (music may be combined with other relaxation strategies-see Summer 2009 Momentum)

* Emotional problems such as anxiety and sadness, and difficulties with self-esteem, self-acceptance and coping

* Cognitive issues, including problems with memory, speech, or communication

* Weakness, poor coordination and walking difficulties

* Pain

To determine whether music therapy has definite therapeutic effects in MS, larger and more rigorous studies are needed.

What can you do now?

Music therapy is generally safe. The only precaution is that excessive noise (greater than 90 decibels) may increase blood pressure and impair hearing. Although studies of music in MS are limited at this time, music is readily available, and for those who are interested, it is certainly a reasonable approach to try. Music may be pursued on one’s own or by consulting a professional music therapist.

Examples of approaches to try on your own include:

Listening

* Although many people listen casually, it may be helpful to be more thoughtful about the types of music one chooses and to be more attentive to them.

Creating music

* Play an instrument.

* Make simple movements, such as tapping a drumstick, along with music.

* Join a chorus or choir.

* Even if you’re not musical, have a jam session with friends.

Moving or dancing

* Take dancing lessons.

* Just dance or move parts of the body to music.

Additional Information

Two outstanding lay books on music and the brain have been published recently:

* Musicophilia, by Dr. Oliver Sacks (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007).

* This Is Your Brain on Music, by Dr. Daniel J. Levitin (New York: Penguin, 2006).

by Allen C. Bowling, MD, PhD

Suzanne Darley, MA, REACE, reviewed and provided valuable input to this article.

Dr. Allen C. Bowling is the medical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Service and director of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Service at the Colorado Neurological Institute. He is also clinical associate professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado-Denver Health Sciences Center and author of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Multiple Sclerosis (2nd edition, Demos Medical Publishing). For more on CAM, visit his Web site, NeurologyCare.net.

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Advances in Surgery and Anesthesia

February 20th, 2010 · No Comments

Yes, there was a time when things were done very differently in surgery.  Some of these tools pictured here were downright barbaric!  But today, things are done very differently.  Today doctors and patients alike know about the benefits of music during surgery.  We are much more aware of the dangers of too much anesthesia and about the fact the adding music to the anesthesia mix can help decrease the amount of

anesthesia needed, thus leading to a safer procedure and a faster recovery!   If you or anyone you know is preparing for surgery, please let them know about the Surgical Serenity Headphones and the Surgical Serenity Download.  The download is immediate, of course, but the headphones can be overnighted anywhere in the U.S. and expedited to anyplace in the world!  Give yourself and your family members the safest surgical experience by tapping into the “relaxation response.”

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Live Music in Operating Room, found to be beneficial

February 19th, 2010 · No Comments

By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com

Classical music played on a piano in the operating room for 115 patients having eye surgery at the former St. Francis Medical Center-Liliha had “profound” physical benefits, it was reported today.
The music lowered the patients’ blood pressure and heart and respiratory rates before any sedation or pain medication, according to a paper in the Medscape Journal of Medicine, a Web resource for physicians of peer-reviewed medical journal articles.

Dr. Jorge Camara, a classically trained pianist and ophthalmologist, played music for patients before surgery as part of a study from May to August 2005 to demonstrate the medical benefits of music.

The classical and semi-classical pieces ranged from Debussy’s “Arabesque No. 1 in E Major” and Chopin’s “Etude in E Major, Op. 10 No. 3,” to “The More I See You,” by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon.

The patients, 49 to 79 years old, were having surgery for the first time. The study reports average decreases of 21 percent in their blood pressure, 8 percent in heart rate and 21 percent in breathing rate.

“This sentinel paper validates the growing evidence that listening to relaxing music has profound beneficial effects on the physiologic functions of the human body,” said Camara, director of ophthalmology in the Department of Surgery, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.

He believes it’s the first study in which a surgeon performed on a piano in an operating room for patients before surgery.

When Camara began the project, Samuel Wong, former Honolulu Symphony music director, and Arthur Harvey, former University of Hawaii music professor and researcher, joined him in playing the piano for patients.

A total of 203 patients underwent ophthalmologic procedures when the piano was in the operating room, but 88 had no music played. The result was “a statistically significant increase of their mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate,” the study found.

Co-authors of the paper, “The Effects of Live Classical Piano Music on the Vital Signs of Patients Undergoing Ophthalmic Surgery,” are Joseph Ruszkowski, Kamehameha Schools music teacher, and Dr. Sandra R. Worak, a research fellow trained by Camara now working in the Philippines.

No complications were associated with the music, and patients “were very happy their doctor was playing the piano for them,” Camara said in an interview.

He said Kahala painter Laurie McKeon, 57, one of the patients who heard live music, wrote about the experience, explaining how scared she was to have surgery and how the piano music made a huge difference.

She wrote: “The music soared above me, swirled around me. It penetrated through my pores, beyond my ears, past my mind and somehow, into my heart. I felt at peace. I felt safe. I felt like everything was going to be just fine. And it was.”

Camara no longer has live piano music in his operating room but patients hear a recording of him playing the piano. He is past president of the Aloha Medical Mission and has given three piano concerts to benefit the organization at the Neil Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Citing growing interest in the medical benefits of music, he said, “So much more has to be studied,” such as the effect on male versus female patients and rap music versus relaxing classical music. “This is only the beginning of a journey that will open our eyes to the wonderful potential of music for healing,” he said.

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Open Heart Surgery and Soothing Music: the oxytocin connection

February 17th, 2010 · 1 Comment

J Clin Nurs. 2009 Aug;18(15):2153-61.

Soothing music can increase oxytocin levels during bed rest after open-heart surgery: a randomised control trial.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Centre for Health Care Sciences, Orebro University Hospital and School of Health, Orebro University, P.O. Box 1324, Orebro SE 70113, Sweden. ulrica.nilsson@orebroll.se

AIM: To evaluate the effect of bed rest with music on relaxation for patients who have undergone heart surgery on postoperative day one.

BACKGROUND: Music intervention has been evaluated as an appropriate nursing intervention to reduce patients ‘pain, stress and anxiety levels in several clinical settings, but its effectiveness in increasing patients’ subjective and objective relaxation levels has not been examined.

DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial.

METHOD: Forty patients undergoing open coronary artery bypass grafting and/or aortic valve replacement surgery were randomly allocated to either music listening during bed rest (n = 20) or bed rest only (n = 20). Relaxation was assessed during bed rest the day after surgery by determining the plasma oxytocin, heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, PaO2 SaO2 and subjective relaxation levels.

RESULTS: In the music group, levels of oxytocin increased significantly in contrast to the control group for which the trend over time was negative i.e., decreasing values. Subjective relaxation levels increased significantly more and there were also a significant higher levels of PaO2 in the music group compared to the control group. There was no difference in mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate and SaO2 between the groups. 

CONCLUSION: Listening to music during bed rest after open-heart surgery has some effects on the relaxation system as regards s-oxytocin and subjective relaxations levels. This effect seems to have a causal relation from the psychological (music makes patients relaxed) to the physical (oxytocin release).

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Music intervention should be offered as an integral part of the multimodal regime administered to the patients that have undergone cardiovascular surgery. It is a supportive source that increases relaxation.

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Pulsing to the Rhythm of Health

February 15th, 2010 · 1 Comment


Pulsing to the Rhythm of Health

by Buffy Owens

We are rhythmical beings living in a world pulsating with life. Our lives pulse with the rhythm of our inner landscapes – from the pounding of our heartbeat and the tempo of our stride, to cycles of our sleep patterns and the cadence of our brain processes. We are also surrounded by the sweet music of life. Just notice the cycle of seasons, ocean waves, the pitter-pat of rain and even the sound of a passing car.

If you have ever been a part of a drum circle or enjoyed the sound of the symphony, then you know how music can move you emotionally, spiritually and physically. Joining in the music making can actually give you a direct link to changing the tempo of your attitude or exploring the sensations of your body.

Drumming for health today has merged the primal beauty of ancient healing arts, practiced for tens of thousands of years in all cultures across the globe, with modern science.

“We know from the research that active drumming effects humans on the cellular biological level,” explains
Kat Fulton, MM, a board certified Music Therapist who with specialization in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and rhythm-based wellness. “Group drumming studies have shown a 62% increase in individual mood state. The same studies also showed a significant decrease in stress hormone and an increase in white blood cells. There have been other studies that show an increase in hormones that corresponds to our immune system from a single session of music therapy.”

So where do you begin? You can seek out a Music Therapist like Kat Fulton or you can follower her simple guidelines for beginning where you are:

Before playing: Please remember that there is no judgment in drumming for health. This is all about the process, not at all about the product. There are no mistakes; there are only opportunities to be YOU!

Prepare: If you have a small frame drum at home, hold it in your lap either face down or on its side. If you don’t have a drum at home, feel free to engage in gentle body percussion instead. You can make up your own movement and rhythm in the process! Use your hands to gently pat different areas of your body, make sounds by stomping your feet, or use your voice and mouth for rhythm.

Center Yourself: Find a comfortable spot to sit or stand, and take a few deep breaths. Become aware of your feelings, thoughts, surroundings, and let them go.

Be Present and Drum: When you are ready, play. Play anything. Bring your awareness to the rhythm while letting go of any self-judgment or criticism. Instead of imagining the rhythms coming from you, imagine the rhythms coming through you.

Savor: After your drumming excursion, take a few moments of silence to allow the rhythms to permeate through your body, mind, and spirit. Take this feeling with you through the day, and remember that which you already know!

Kat Fulton, MM, MT-BC
soundhealthmusic.com
              858-205-8660         858-205-8660 phone
858-433-2960 fax

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Music and the Heart: New research!

February 11th, 2010 · No Comments

Music that Inspires Joy Improves Blood Vessel Function
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas, MD, FACC

Nov. 13, 2008 — Joyful music helps your heart, researchers find.

The study comes from Michael Miller, MD, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland. Miller reported the findings at this week’s annual meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.

Ten volunteers identified specific music that made them feel a sense of joy. While the music played, Miller and colleagues used an ultrasound device to measure how well each person’s blood vessels responded to a sudden increase in blood flow (caused by release of a blood pressure cuff).

When they heard joyful music, the volunteers’ blood vessels dilated by 26% — a very healthy response. It’s similar in magnitude to the response seen after aerobic exercise.

Laughter also improved blood flow. After listening to a comedy tape, volunteers’ blood vessels dilated by 19%. That’s similar to the laughter effect seen in an earlier study, in which volunteers viewed excerpts from the comic movie Kingpin.

But music has a dark side, too. Listening to music that made volunteers feel anxious narrowed blood vessels by 6%.

“These results were music to my ears because they signal another preventive strategy that we may incorporate in our daily lives to promote heart health,” Miller says in a news release.

Country music made most of the volunteers feel joyful. Heavy metal music made most of them feel anxious. But Miller says what matters isn’t the type of music, but an individual’s emotional response to the music.

Miller says that 10 different individuals might well have found different types of music joyful — and heart healthy.

Funding for the study came from the American Heart Association, the Veterans Administration, and the National Institutes of health.

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One person’s experience with dental anesthesia and music

February 9th, 2010 · No Comments

This post appeared recently on another blog (http://ordinarilyuninteresting.blogspot.com/2010/02/its-business-time.html) and pertained so specifically to music with dental surgery, I thought that my readers might enjoy reading it:  “I had to get up early–0500h–in order to travel to the Big City and get a tooth implant. For those of you who don’t know, a tooth implant is a titanium screw that is placed in the jawbone as an anchor for a permanent tooth approx four months after the implant is embedded. It is the best solution for those looking to replace a missing tooth, the other options being a bridge or no treatment. Bridges are usually fine and have been used for decades, are usually lower cost, but the downside is that you have to ruin two perfectly good teeth in order to install a bridge.

So I didn’t go with the bridge, because I am a relatively young guy and I don’t want to give up two more teeth–bridges can result in root canals in a long-term run–and my doctor recommended the implant. He’s a nice guy, great with oral surgery. Did my wisdom teeth (third molars). The only problem I had with the implant was that I needed some bone grafting done in order to anchor the implant firmly. These days they grow bone tissue in test tubes, so I didn’t not have to give up any of my bone for the procedure.

I was a bit scared at first, because I remember when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I had all four teeth growing in, two of them impacted, so I had to have two of them pulled and two of them cut out. It wasn’t pretty. I remember waking up after the surgery int he recovery room thinking I was at some kind of party or social event at which I had imbibed too much alcohol. The feeling after being aroused from the anesthesia is remarkably like being intoxicated. The nurses had a hard time getting me to lay back down. I then spent the next two weeks recovering from my procedure, spending lots of time with my mouth open over the toilet as blood and ooze drained from my cavities, suffering pain unimaginable when my codeine ran out or I had to eat–I remember lots of chocolate malts. What a way to spend spring break.

So this time I was a bit unnerved about the whole ordeal. Getting my mouth opened up and having some bone and titanium implanted into my jaw didn’t sound like a lot of fun. So I get to the Big City and get into the office and they talk me through the thing and let me choose my anesthesia and I’m looking around at all the tools and stuff laying around the small operating area and I want to ask lots of questions–not out of worry, but curiosity. I don’t ask those questions, though, because I’d rather these nurses concentrate on making everything go smoothly as possible. I wake up about two and a half hours later in the recovery room, this time completely ready for the wave of intoxication to wash over me. There is is. I lay back down, knowing that I got little enough sleep the night before and that I’ve got time here, and now, to get more rest without feeling guilty. I just had a major operation done. So I lay back down, listen to the girl crying next to me–her first time, I assume–and just let the anesthesia work its magic.

My mom drives me home after that; I’m not allowed with all the drugs in my system. I brought my mp3 player and listened to soothing music to facilitate more rest, in case the pain kicked in early. Last time we didn’t have any drugs and I was in howling torture by the time we got home. Not this time. They gave me some really great pain killing stuff at the hospital. Injected it directly into my mouth.

And I sleep most of the rest of the day, nearly completely pain free. Yesterday I went out to a client’s house and hooked up her computer and configured the printer with no problems. I slept early last night and woke up in some pain, but I took ibuprofen for comfort, no Darvocet. “  Whenever you can manage dental pain with a little ibuprofen and no narcotics, THAT’S a successful music-amplified anesthesia!  Get you headphones here:  www.surgicalheadphones.com

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How Does Sound Healing Work?

February 6th, 2010 · No Comments

Sound Healing has become more popular over the last couple of decades, simply because more and more research has proven that we are greatly affected mentally, emotionally, and physically by sounds or combinations of sounds. Sounds can essentially bring us up or bring us down, from a mental and emotional standpoint, and this works the same way on the physical level as well.

How Sound Healing Works
Because all sounds have a frequency, and every cell in our bodies also has a frequency, these frequencies can work together to heal our minds and our bodies. For example, in modern medicine, sound is commonly used. Sound waves, or sound frequencies, can be used to destroy gallstones or kidney stones in many cases.

Sound is also often used for the reduction of pain, although we don’t realize it. For example, when you have a dental procedure done these days, you will usually have the option of wearing earphones and listening to music. This isn’t to drown out the sound of the dentist’s drill. It’s for the purpose of taking your mind off of the procedure, to reduce the pain that you experience, and to relax your mind as well.

If you doubt that this type of therapy actually works, or has an effect on us, try it out yourself. Listen to music that you love for about thirty minutes, and then jot down your feelings in a journal. On another day, listen to music that you hate, and again jot your feelings down. You will most likely notice that your feelings after hearing music that you liked were positive, while they were negative after exposure to music that you did not like.

Various Sounds Used for Sound Healing

While most people think that only music is used for this type of healing, this isn’t true at all. While music is widely used, and highly beneficial, other sounds are also used – such as beating drums, sounds of animals, sounds of water, sounds of wind, sounds of the ocean, and many other sounds.

Typically, the sound chosen for your healing will depend on the type of healing that is needed, and on your personal preferences concerning sounds. For example, some music and sounds can actually distress us, while other types of music and sounds make us quite happy, or extremely relaxed.

The Benefits of Sound Healing

Sound healing can be used for a variety of problems. It can lower the blood pressure, ease or eliminate stress, reduce pain, improve sleep, lift depression, and much more. You can find sound therapy or healing used in doctor’s offices, dentist offices, hospitals, day care centers, schools, nursing homes, prisons, rehabilitation centers, and a variety of other places.

For more info, go to http://www.methodsofhealing.com

→ No CommentsTags: Music Healing · Music in the Hospital

Surgical Headphones Enter the Dental Surgery Field

February 3rd, 2010 · 3 Comments

Tomorrow I’m traveling to Versailles, KY to speak to a group of 25-30 dentists about our Surgical Serenity Headphones and their value in dentistry! Ever since the headphones went on the market last March (www.surgicalheadphones.com) people have been saying “Oh, those would be great in a dentist’s office!”

Yes, the dentist chair is one of the most un-favorite places to find oneself. In dentistry, the headphones would serve multiple purposes. In addition to the relaxation effect that invariably is elicited, there’s also the fact that having on headphones will block and muffle the sound of the drill, one of the most unpleasant parts of the dental procedure.

As with so many procedures, just knowing that you have multiple choices for pain management is a huge plus, and with music, there’s no novocaine numbness to wear off and no gases or narcotics to put into your bloodstream!

The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, which are………..none!

→ 3 CommentsTags: Music and Dental Surgery

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