Low Frequency Sound Massage Helps Treat Diseases

Vibroacoustic therapy (VAT), which uses low frequency sound, could play a key role in reducing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Developed by researchers at the University of Toronto (Canada), VAT consists of low sound frequencies that are transmitted to the body and brain through special transducers that convert the sound to an inner body “massage.” VAT frequencies, which range between 20 Hz and 100 Hz, correspond to brainwave activities and function. In 2009, the researchers treated two groups of Parkinson’s patients (20 with dominant tremor symptoms and 20 with slow/rigid movement symptoms) with five minutes of 30 Hz VAT. Both groups showed improvements in all symptoms, including less rigidity and better walking speed with bigger steps and fewer tremors.

However, according to the researchers, the effects of VAT extend beyond the brain. It also provides deep physical cellular stimulation to skin, muscles, and joints, resulting in decreased pain and increased mobility. Similar to mechanical massage, VAT aids circulation, relaxes muscles, and feels good. The researchers added that medical conditions such as Parkinson’s and neuralgic pain such as fibromyalgia might be related to brain-rhythm disorientation between the inner brain and the outer cortex, which the rhythmic pulses of VAT music can drive and stabilize.

“It is basically stimulating the body with very low sound, like sitting on a subwoofer,” said Prof. Lee Bartel, LMus, PhD, director of the music and health research collaboratory (MaHRC) at the University of Toronto. “It is truly an exciting time for music medicine; the idea of developing audioceuticals (prescribable sound) points to a whole new direction for music therapy, and the potential for MaHRC to lead in this is very exciting for me.”

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