Music Therapy: A Powerful Tool For Stroke Recovery

how music therapy can help with stroke recovery

Music therapy is a powerful tool in the rehabilitation of stroke survivors, offering a wide range of benefits. It can help to stimulate multiple regions of the brain, and when incorporated into rehabilitative activities, it has been shown to have a significant impact on stroke recovery.

Neurologic music therapy utilises music, rhythm and beat to help retrain the brain. This is particularly useful for stroke survivors as the essence of recovery involves rewiring the brain, a process known as neuroplasticity. Through neuroplasticity, the brain can make incredible adaptive changes, enlisting healthy areas of the brain to control functions previously governed by areas affected by the stroke.

Music therapy can help with this process, and its benefits are substantial and wide-ranging. It can aid in the recovery of a wide range of functions including movement, speech and cognition. For example, music therapy can be used to help stroke survivors re-learn how to walk by using a musical beat to pace their steps. It can also help improve hand functions such as strength, range of motion and dexterity.

Additionally, music therapy can help improve speech for individuals with aphasia, a common speech disorder resulting from stroke that makes it difficult to express or understand language. This is because even when people with certain types of aphasia lose the ability to speak, they are often still able to sing, a phenomenon attributed to the different regions of the brain responsible for producing music and language.

Music therapy has also been shown to boost cognitive functions, with studies finding that listening to music for at least an hour per day helped stroke survivors improve verbal memory and focused attention. It can also help to alleviate post-stroke depression and anxiety by increasing the release of dopamine and reducing the stress hormone cortisol.

Overall, music therapy is a safe, low-cost, convenient and effective form of treatment for stroke survivors. It is a fun and motivating way to practice high repetitions of activities that stimulate the brain, and consistently stimulating the brain encourages adaptive changes through neuroplasticity.

Characteristics Values
Improved gait Improved walking speed, stride length, and timing between steps
Improved hand function Improved strength, range of motion, dexterity, finger movement
Improved speech Improved language understanding, speech frequency, and rhythm
Improved cognitive function Improved memory, attention, verbal memory
Improved mood Reduced feelings of depression and anxiety

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Music therapy can help with speech and language recovery

Music therapy can be a powerful tool to aid stroke recovery, and it has been shown to be particularly effective in helping patients regain their speech and language abilities. This is because the areas of the brain responsible for producing music and language are different, and even when people with certain types of aphasia lose the ability to speak, they often retain the ability to sing. This phenomenon forms the basis for

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It can improve hand function and dexterity

Music therapy can improve hand function and dexterity in stroke patients by enhancing their ability to perform fine motor tasks and increasing the range of motion in their joints. This is achieved through the use of rhythmic and melodic musical instruments or digital music equipment, which facilitate the coordination and strength of the impaired hand. The therapy is typically delivered in sessions lasting around 30 minutes each, offered either individually or to small groups, and has been shown to be more effective when conducted within 6 months of a stroke.

Music-supported therapy (MST) has been found to be a useful treatment for improving hand function and activities of daily living in stroke patients, especially in the acute and recovery phases. The rhythm and auditory feedback play a vital role in the treatment, as they provide real-time feedback that helps patients improve their hand dexterity and finger grasping ability.

MST can also enhance the quality of life for stroke patients by decreasing depression and helping them deal with the emotional stress caused by the sudden and severe neurological disease. It provides a means of emotional expression and motivation, which can be especially beneficial for those who have lost the ability to speak or communicate effectively.

While the included studies provide evidence for the effectiveness of MST in improving hand function, there are some limitations to the current research. The sample sizes in the studies are generally small, and only English-language studies were included in this review, potentially excluding relevant studies in other languages. Additionally, there was a lack of proper randomization in some studies, particularly with regards to blinding the patients, which may have introduced a placebo effect.

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It can aid gait and ambulation

Gait and ambulation refer to the repetitive pattern of steps and strides an individual takes when walking. Gait impairment after a stroke can lead to significant morbidity. Music therapy can improve gait and ambulation, as well as enhance cognitive and motor function in the life of stroke patients.

Music-supported therapy (MST) can improve the function of ambulation, cognitive function, and motor skills. However, only six of the eight studies reported clear results of a positive outcome on gait ability from direct application of MST. The cases conducted by Hayden and Gonzalez-Hoelling et al. both reported findings that were unclear and showed no observable distinctions between experimental and control groups. The MST interventions implemented to reveal positive outcomes included daily listening, musical motor feedback (MMF), rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS), and therapy sessions involving physical movement with music in the background or as direct usage.

RAS is defined as an application of pulsed rhythms or stimulation through music to improve gait-related movements. When patients trained with the rhythm of the music, muscle contractions, balance, and functional improvements were observed.

MST has the ability to create significant improvement in the lives of recovering stroke patients. The use of MST can yield positive outcomes and sustained recovery for stroke patients and is clinically feasible. Rhythmic stimulation can synchronize movement and increase the flexion of the joints needed to recover. Daily listening to music improves the emotional state of the patient, enabling them to feel an increased motivation to recover and a more positive quality of life.

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It can improve cognitive function and memory

Music therapy can improve cognitive function and memory in stroke patients in several ways. Firstly, listening to music for at least an hour a day has been found to improve verbal memory and focused attention in stroke survivors compared to those who listened to audiobooks or received no auditory stimuli. This is because music stimulates structural changes in the areas of the brain responsible for verbal memory, language skills, and focused attention.

Secondly, music therapy can help stroke patients with aphasia, a speech disorder that affects one-third of stroke survivors, by improving their language comprehension and production. This is because the brain processes music and speech in different regions, so even when people with aphasia lose the ability to speak, they can often still sing.

Thirdly, music therapy can improve cognitive recovery in stroke patients by enhancing their memory and attention. For example, listening to classical music has been found to improve left neglect in stroke survivors, a condition where survivors lose the ability to notice things in their environment on their affected side.

Finally, music therapy can improve the mood and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety in stroke patients, which is important as almost a third of survivors struggle with post-stroke depression. Music therapy achieves this by increasing the release of dopamine as individuals subconsciously anticipate climaxes in the music.

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It can help with post-stroke depression and anxiety

Music therapy can be an effective way to provide psychological care after a stroke, helping with post-stroke depression and anxiety.

Listening to music stimulates the brain to release more dopamine, which can improve a person's mood. This is especially important as nearly one in every three survivors struggle with post-stroke depression. Music therapy is most effective when used in conjunction with more conventional therapy treatments for post-stroke depression.

Music therapy can also help improve anxiety symptoms by reducing cortisol, a stress hormone. One study has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, even in the acute stages of rehabilitation.

Music therapy can be a powerful addition to any stroke survivor's rehabilitation regimen, and it provides a wide variety of benefits. It helps stimulate multiple regions of the brain and can have a significant impact on stroke recovery.

Frequently asked questions

Music therapy can help stroke survivors with their rehabilitation by stimulating multiple regions of the brain. It can be used to address a wide range of motor, speech, and cognitive deficits, as well as behavioural and emotional issues.

Music therapy can be active or passive. Active music therapy involves patients directly participating in singing, playing instruments, or moving with music during therapy. Passive music therapy, also known as sensory music therapy, involves patients listening to familiar music.

Music therapy can help stroke patients with gait and balance, upper-limb motor function, hand function, and speech and language skills. It can also improve patients' mood and reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.

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