Friend of PediaStaff in the News! - featured December 2, 2010
< Back to Previous PageMusic helps those with motor disorders
Attagirl, Kimberly!!
[Source: Buffalo News]
A retired dentist and former big-band leader, John (name changed to protect identity), was grappling with the limited mobility, poor balance and painfully slow gait of Parkinson’s disease. One of his greatest challenges was walking from his bedroom to his TV room. He’d freeze when the floor changed from wood to carpet. It could take him 15 minutes to traverse his own home.
Music therapist Kimberly Sena Moore visited John regularly as a home health aide during her undergraduate years at the University of Iowa. John mentioned that he liked the band music of John Philip Sousa. Moore started singing the introduction of “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Suddenly, the octogenarian with advanced Parkinson’s was marching to the beat.
“When the introduction was over, he just marched down the hall to the bedroom,” says Moore. “It was amazing.”
After that visit, whenever John needed to walk, Moore would sing. The crippling hold of the neurodegenerative disease would suddenly loosen, and John could suddenly walk—or march—again.
Moore and her patient had accidentally discovered the rich connection between the auditory and motor systems. A 2009 literature review found more than two dozen studies showing that the use of music and rhythm in physical therapy significantly improves gait and upper body mobility in Parkinson’s patients, as well as those who’ve suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
Read the Rest of this Article in the Buffalo News
Check out Kimberly Sena Moore's Blog, 'Music Therapy Maven' ;
Her blog in Psychology Today, 'Your Musical Self';
And her website 'NeuroSong Music Therapy Services'
[Source: Buffalo News]
A retired dentist and former big-band leader, John (name changed to protect identity), was grappling with the limited mobility, poor balance and painfully slow gait of Parkinson’s disease. One of his greatest challenges was walking from his bedroom to his TV room. He’d freeze when the floor changed from wood to carpet. It could take him 15 minutes to traverse his own home.
Music therapist Kimberly Sena Moore visited John regularly as a home health aide during her undergraduate years at the University of Iowa. John mentioned that he liked the band music of John Philip Sousa. Moore started singing the introduction of “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Suddenly, the octogenarian with advanced Parkinson’s was marching to the beat.
“When the introduction was over, he just marched down the hall to the bedroom,” says Moore. “It was amazing.”
After that visit, whenever John needed to walk, Moore would sing. The crippling hold of the neurodegenerative disease would suddenly loosen, and John could suddenly walk—or march—again.
Moore and her patient had accidentally discovered the rich connection between the auditory and motor systems. A 2009 literature review found more than two dozen studies showing that the use of music and rhythm in physical therapy significantly improves gait and upper body mobility in Parkinson’s patients, as well as those who’ve suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
Read the Rest of this Article in the Buffalo News
Check out Kimberly Sena Moore's Blog, 'Music Therapy Maven' ;
Her blog in Psychology Today, 'Your Musical Self';
And her website 'NeuroSong Music Therapy Services'
Tags: Music Therapy News of the Week Newsletter 3 December 2010
