Listening to or making sounds with musical instruments, singing or moving to rhythm helps people with cerebral palsy exercise their brains and improve their gait.
Cerebral palsy is a chronic damage to one or more specific areas of the brain that affects body movement and muscle coordination, usually occurring during fetal development, at birth, or in early childhood up to age 5. Damage to the motor areas of the brain disrupts the ability to control body movement and posture.
Cerebral palsy itself is not progressive (that is, the brain damage does not get worse). However, secondary conditions, such as spasticity, which involve movement, sensory, mental, and behavioral problems, may improve or worsen over time.
According to 2023 data from the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation, there are currently about 17 million people with cerebral palsy in the world. In the US, the rate of children with cerebral palsy is 1/345. In Vietnam, Associate Professor, Dr. Nghiem Huu Thanh, Director of the Central Acupuncture Hospital, cited 2012 data recording an average of about 200,000 children with cerebral palsy each year.
Children with cerebral palsy are a burden to their families, because in addition to the disability that the disease leaves throughout the patient's life, it also requires great sacrifice from the family in terms of time, effort and money. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the cost of medical treatment and care for a child with cerebral palsy is 10 times higher than that of a child without the disease. According to the CDC's adjusted 2023 data, the cost of lifelong care for a child with cerebral palsy is about 1.6 million USD.
Today, medical professionals believe that music therapy does not rely on verbal communication, so it can be helpful for people who have difficulty communicating in this way, such as those with cerebral palsy. It can be done directly at home, for patients who cannot get out of bed or go to the doctor. It can also be helpful for children who want to be in a familiar environment during therapy.
A music therapy session for children with cerebral palsy in Hanoi, Mid-Autumn Festival 2023. Photo: TreeLinks Project
The use of music for therapy and healing dates back to ancient Greece. However, the current trend of using music therapy only began in the 20th century, after the end of World War II. In the 1800s, medical research on the therapeutic nature of music developed, and by the 1940s, universities were offering music therapy programs, according to Medical News Today .
The way music affects the brain is complex. All aspects of music, including pitch, tempo, and melody, are processed by different areas of the brain. This therapy aims to harness the body’s profound physical responses to music to help people with mental health problems.
Many studies have shown that music can reduce anxiety, including in people with cancer, undergoing surgery or special treatments. Music also helps people with depression improve symptoms, releasing dopamine - a hormone that makes people feel good, and endorphins - hormones that can create a happy mood and reduce pain.
With 10 years of experience in psychological counseling, Dr. Phuong Anh, New Zealand Research Institute, founder of Treelinks - Trees and Books Project to soothe the mind, said that music helps people learn how to face and resolve negative emotions.
Sad songs are used a lot in this type of therapy. When a person is immersed in sadness and gradually loses control of their emotions, if they listen to a sad song that suits their mood and situation, they will effectively control their emotions and overcome that sadness. "It can be said that music is really the cheapest therapy to heal emotional wounds," said Dr. Phuong Anh.
According to Forbes , there are four main music therapy approaches: listening, improvisation, reproduction (performance), and composition. Each approach has many variations, and the five most commonly known are improvisational, analytical, behavioral, neuropsychological, and Bonny guided imagery music therapy.
Neuromusic therapy refers to the use of musical experiences using specific protocols and techniques to change the body's response. Focusing on specific aspects of music, such as rhythm, tempo, and melody, helps patients practice speech, cognition, and movement by building new connections or neural pathways in the brain, thereby improving more stable function.
USA Today , citing a meta-analysis of 14 studies, said that neuromusic therapy has been shown to help train the brain and improve gait in people with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, stroke, and cerebral palsy. In people with cerebral palsy, auditory stimulation improves gait speed and posture.
The skills a person learns in music therapy can also be useful in everyday life. People may find learning an instrument a new hobby. At the same time, they can use it as a tool to improve their mental health and cope with difficult situations throughout their lives.
In addition to improving mental health, music therapy offers many other benefits, such as creative opportunities, expanding cultural knowledge and awareness, and improving memory.
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