What is Vibro Acoustic Therapy?

What is Vibro Acoustic Therapy?

By Olav Skille

Professor Olav Skille, the internationally acclaimed music therapist and scientist is the pioneer in development of Vibro Acoustic Therapy. He is the founder President of International Society for Vibro Acoustic and also a member of the scientific committee of International Society for Music in Medicine – world’s leading organisation for music in medicine. Professor Skille recently visited Kolkata to initiate a research on Vibro Acoustic Therapy in India to be conducted by Step One Foundation in collaboration with several distinguished experts and organisations of national and international repute. His visit was partly sponsored by The Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi.We are proud to have Professor Skille as our honourary advisor.

“It is not the right procedure, to deny something you see, just because you cannot understand it. Heterogeneous systems, out of balance and sufficiently complex, respond to every external stimulus, even with the little amount of energy.”

Giorgio Piccardi (1895-1972), Italian Physicist

Life is vibration – Matter is vibration. The atom vibrates. The universe vibrates. Sound is vibration. Light is vibration. Temperature is vibration. Massage is vibration. The difference between all these vibrations is just the speed of each cycle or impulse. The Kalpa (Mahayuga) cycle is 4320 million years and the song of the tiny bird can be 20000 impulses per second. Still all of them are vibrations.

A newborn baby contains about 90 % water. An old person contains only 70 %. All this water is set in motion when our bodies are exposed to sound vibrations.

When water is moved its molecules are changing place, and temperature changes slightly. The water molecules are communicating differently with each other during and after vibration. During VAT this communication restores harmony in our organism. Body and soul are in peace with each other. We feel sound and safe.

The idea of music as a healing influence which could affect health and behaviour is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato. It was developed simultaneously in Europe and USA as remedial use in institutions and prisons. Music Therapy is now generally considered to be a psychotherapeutic method. But in order to obtain a strong and more specific effect it is necessary to have a source which has pure enough definition of the vibrating frequencies. Music contains too many frequencies and is therefore not pure enough in this context. If we use clearly defined single requencies, it is possible to register the physiological effects of each frequency and accordingly it is possible to obtain stronger biological effects. The pioneer work of Teirich and Pontvik in the early 1950ies on the physical effects of music vibrations was perfected by Olav Skille from 1968 onwards and evolved to become the method now called Vibro Acoustic Therapy. Olav Skille developed world’s first VAT equipment and together with late Petri Lehikoinen, a clinical psychologist from Finland, and Professor Tony Wigram, Head of Music Therapy Studies, Alborg University, Denmark used VAT for the first time in clinical settings during post 1980s. Professor Wigram, the first PhD in Music therapy, conducted the first comprehensive research study on the effectiveness of Vibro Acoustic Therapy at St. Georges Hospital Medical School of London University and published his famous thesis with the title “The Effects of Vibro Acoustic Therapy on Clinical and Non-Clinical Populations”. With the results of more than 25 years of research and development, the treatment is now being used widely in over 100 hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, old people’s homes, health clubs, alternative and complementary clinics and private therapy studios in Finland, England, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Japan, China and the USA. VAT equipment is now approved as medical device in several countries. Different manufacturers in UK,USA, Japan, China and Russia have come out with their own versions of vibroacoustic

equipment. However, equipment from Multivib AS, Norway is the most original and complete equipment for transfer of single and extremely controlled low frequencies and is being regularly improved and developed by Olav Skille, the inventor of the therapy and promises maximum fruitful results.

The benefits of Vibro Acoustic Therapy

VAT is a positive “add-on” for any other therapy we use – it does not matter if it is allopathic, homeopathic or herbal medicine; physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture or other alternative therapies. The Estonian physician,Professor Saima Tamm, described VAT “as being an adaptogenous therapy which has an effect to adapt itself to the needs of the patient. The body listens for signals which are needed in order to obtain full harmony, and start processes in the body which eventually will satisfy the signalled needs.”

Research and clinical programs around the world have reported that vibroacoustics provides a wide variety of mental and physical benefits like:

• skin surface massage and deep tissue massage

• changing viscosity of phlegm in lungs

• deep massage of intestines

• effect on smooth and striped muscles

• analgesia

• stimulating blood circulation.

• marked effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

• marked effect on stress-hormone levels (Cortisol, Beta-endorphin and ACTH)

• marked effect on the vegetative nervous system..

• general stimulation of the pressure-receptors in the body

• stimulating effect on the CNS.

• decreasing experience of pain

• relaxing muscular hyper-tauticity

• improving range of motion

• effect on muscle tone

• addressing both the physical and psychological aspects of pain

• reducing stress

• facilitatation of Relaxation Response

• reducing nausea, headache, anxiety, fatigue and depression

• reducing hyperactivity

• development of sensory awareness

• auditory and physical stimulation

• enhancement of communication skills

• promoting feeling of calmness

• management with no unwanted side effects

Vibro Acoustic Therapy:

• increases quality of life.

• is a non-drug, non-invasive approach to pain and anxiety.

• involves only a one-time cost-effective capital expense.

Biological life is a rhythmically organized process with frequencies, which extend

over a large range. Even molecules, the smallest components of the vital function, go

through oscillating chemical and functional transformations.

Which symptoms can be treated with Vibro Acoustic Therapy?

The most positive effects can be found in treatment of:

COPD/Asthma/Bronchitis Cerebral Paresis

Cystic Fibrosis Spastic conditions/cramps

Constipation Neck/shoulder pains

Irregular Bowel Syndrome Back pains

Stomach pains/colic Frozen shoulder

Decubitus ulcers Polyarthritis

Parkinsonism Rheumatism

Stroke Morbus Bechterew

Impaired blood circulation (Ankylosing Spondylitis)

Insomnia Sport injuries

Stress Menstrual pains –

Pre-menstrual tension (PMT) Dysmenorrhea

Headache, Migraine Muscular Over-use Syndrome

Fibromyalgia/Fibrositis Kidney stones

Post-operative conditions Autism

Spina Bifida Rett Syndrome

NB: VAT has an immediate pleasurable effect, but some effects can appear several hours, often days, after the therapy session. Repeated therapy sessions will increase the cumulative effect of the therapy series.

Is there any risk involved?

More than 40000 hours of therapy have been provided to patients in Europe and USA. There is not a single report of risk or mishap. No significant adverse effects have also been found. However, Some patients may experience nausea during the first couple of sessions.

Not recommended for:

1. Active or borderline psychosis

2. External or internal bleeding (not menstrual bledding)

3. Recent thrombosis

VA therapy influences both psychological and physiological processes. Music is

received, processed and interpreted in the brain, and the emotional and associating

effect of music stimulates psychological processes. At the same time, physical effects

go alongside or are the result of psychological activity…. The psychological and

physiological effect of music and sound is gaining increasing importance in treatment

theory surrounding music therapy and music in medicine.

Music and vibration have historically been used for healing for centuries, but is only recently that objective research has developed in order to substantiate and validate the healing properties of sound reported anecdotally

for hundreds of years.

Vibro Acoustic Therapy Research Studies

Researches around the world have provided clear data on the outcomes of vibroacoustics but there are other effects that have not yet been quantified or perhaps even identified. Scientific research continues to investigate the effects that vibroacoustics have on body chemistry, brain wave frequencies, pain suppression, and a number of other responses.

Research in India

Step One Foundation for Child Camp; Youth Welfare, a registered non-profit based at Kolkata has initiated a neverbefore Indian research study on Effectiveness of Vibro Acoustic Therapy as an Intervention for Physical and Mental Health in collaboration with Olav Skille, the pioneer in the field and several other researchers from different countries. We hope this research will bring a greater understanding of the effects of sound vibration. We also hope that if found effective, it will provide immense help to patients suffering from chronic ailments and facing difficulties due to rising cost of medicines.

Advisors:

Olav Skille, Norway

Mr. Olav Skille is one of the main figures in the development of Vibro Acoustic Therapy (VAT). He is the founding president for International Society for Vibro Acoustic (ISVA) and was a senior consultant for the school system in Levanger, Norway. He retired from government service in 2006 and started collaborating with GaiaCare

AS, Norway, the famous medical equipment company to pursue research in the field of Vibro Acoustic Therapy. He is a member of scientific committee for International Society for Music Medicine (ISFMIM) – the world’s leading organisation for Music in Medicine. Since his first presentation on the principle and method of VAT at the

first ISFMIM symposium in 1982, he has been on several International Symposiums for Music in Medicine which covers area in Vibro Acoustic Therapy. He has also published books related to Vibro Acoustic Therapy.Some of his publications include Manual of Vibro Acoustic and Differential Diagnosis of Musicality Functions (MUBS – the Musical Behaviour Scale) as found in normal and special needs children.

Dr. Ralph Spintge MD, PhD, Germany, Chairman, DGS Pain Centre, Hellersen Hospital for Sport Injuries, Germany Physician, music medicine researcher and Professor for music medicine in Hamburg. Director of department for interdisciplinary pain therapy and the music-medical research lab IMUR Since 1986. Training representative for music medicine at Institute for Music Therapy of the University for Music and Theatres Hamburg as well as Adjunct professor at Institutes for the Music Research of the University of Texas in San Antonio. Dr. Spintge is the Executive Director of International Society for Music in Medicine, Author and publisher of several books for basic research over and use of music in the medicine. The pain clinic which Dr. Spintge heads has a database of over 90,000 patients showing the effects of music on the patient. Present main points of work are the neurophysiological over the connection of music, physiology and medicine as well as the clinical application of musical attractions in anesthesia, intensive medicine and pain therapy.

Professor Joseph Moreno, USA, Professor Emeritus of Music Therapy, Maryville University St. Louis, USA. Director, Moreno Institute for the Creative Arts Therapies, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Professor Moreno has long maintained an interdisciplinary approach to his work and is internationally recognized for his creative and groundbreaking work that has served to bring together the disciplines of music and psychodrama in group therapy processes. He has presented workshops in more than 50 countries and has been a sought-after keynote presenter at many international conferences. He is also known for his extensive field research into the indigenous world traditions of music and healing and the connections of these practices to further deepen our understanding of the role of the creative arts therapies in contemporary psychotherapy. Professor Moreno has authored the book, Acting Your Inner Music: Music Therapy and Psychodrama inspired by the legendary work of his uncle Dr. J. L. Moreno (recognized at Harvard University as one of the greatest social scientists in the world) the creator of psychodrama and group psychotherapy. This innovative book has been widely translated and published in a number of foreign editions and has become an essential resource for creative arts therapists seeking to develop integrative approaches to their work. His numerous articles have been published in prestigious American journals and translated and published in 14

international journal publications. In 2001 he was presented the National Award in Research and Publications by the American Music Therapy Association.

Cheryl L. Dileo PhD, MT-BC, USA, Professor of Music Therapy, University of Philadelphia, USA. Director, Interdisciplinary Arts and Quality of Life Research Center, Temple University, Philadelphia. Cheryl L. Dileo, professor of music therapy, Boyer College of Music and Dance, is one of the leading researchers in the world in the evolving field of music therapy. The author/editor of 12 books and more than 90 journal articles and book chapters, she has lectured extensively in this country and abroad on music therapy and its role with critically ill medical patients, in palliative care, pain and stress management, international and multicultural

practice, and on issues of professional ethics, education and training. She has served as President of the World Federation of Music Therapy and the National Association for Music Therapy and has held numerous positions within these organizations. Currently, she is the Business Manager of the World Federation of Music Therapy and Co-Chair of the Ethics Board of the American Music Therapy Association. She is a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Cancer Institute. She is the Principal Investigator of a large grant from the State of PA to support research concerning the effects of music therapy on multicultural inpatients with cancer or heart disease, and also the PI of an HIV and Music Therapy grant from Johnson and Johnson. She recently published the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis of research studies in medical music therapy. Dileo has received prestigious research grants for her work, including astudy of HIV patients and their caregivers at Temple University Hospital and the impact of music therapy sessions and a choral experience on their immune status, quality of life and feelings of isolation. In another study, Dileo and her team are examining the effects of music therapy on multicultural inpatients with cancer or heart disease. She is the recipient of the Award of Merit and the Distinguished Research/Publication Awards of the AMTA and Temple University Research

Award 2006.

Dr Bruce Barber B Ed, M Ed, PhD, Australia, Research Staff, National Ageing Research Institute, Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus, Victoria,Australia.

After a career as a musician and music educator Dr. Bruce Barber completed a doctoral study that investigated electrophysiological processes in music cognition. His recent work includes the study of Alzheimer’s disease patients’ physiological responses to music. This work aims to determine whether there are objective indices of the

reported benefits of music therapy that may help in designing music intervention protocols. Dr. Barber is a member of the pain research group and is involved in studies that aim to elucidate the impact of memory loss and other cognitive deficits on the experience of pain, its diagnosis and treatment. His current projects include:

Development of new methods of pain assessment in demented, non-verbal older people.

The capacity for a music intervention to improve cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Hemoencephalographic (HEG) biofeedback as a means of improving cognitive function in people with mild cognitive impairment.

Professor Eha Ruutel PhD. Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tallinn University, Estonia

Dr. Ruutel is an authority on environmental psychology and art therapies. During the past few years she is working mainly on art therapies and how people can (re-)connect with nature. The development of vibroacoustic therapy (VAT) in Estonia began in 1987 at the Tallinn Pedagogical Institute under the leadership of Dr. Ruutel. Her well-cited paper “ The Psychophysiological Effects of Music and Vibroacoustic Stimulation” was published in Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, the globally recognised scientific journal on music therapy.

Dr. Malati Ghosh Head, Department of Psychiatry, Bangur Institute of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Kolkata.

Dr. Ashim Mallick Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Bangur Institute of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Kolkata

Dr. Debdulal Dutta Roy, Senior Lecturer, Psychology Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

Collaborators:

Shadi Akbari, Occupational Therapist, Teheran University, Iran

Ana Antunovic, Rehabilitation Therapist and VA Therapist, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Jelena Jelenic, Physiotherapist, Little House Day Care Centre for Occupational and Rehabilitation Therapy, Zagreb, Croatia

Ariye Shapiro, MusicTherapist, Israel

Marith Bergstrom-Isacsson, Music Therapist, Swedish Rett Center, Sweden

The Research Team:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Koushik Dutta

Other Investigators: Mrs. Kakali Basu, Special Educator

Miss Shilpi Chatterjee, Physiotherapist

Dr. (Ms.) Atreyi Dutta, Clinical Psychologist

Proposed Group of Research Subjects:

GROUP A: AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER

Inclusion criteria

DSM IV TR diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

Exclusion criteria

(1) Co-morbid Axis I Diagnosis, e.g. schizophrenia, substance abuse and mood disorders.

(2) Serious Axis III ( Somatic ) Diagnosis including congenital, rheumatic or ischemic heart disease;endocrinopathy, renal failure, hepatic dysfunction, severe anemia, immunodeficiency, connective disease,vasculitis and ongoing febrile illness (absence of such diseases to be mentioned clearly in previous prescription, consent form and study record proforma ).

GROUP B: CEREBRAL PALSY

Inclusion Criterion: An established diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

Exclusion criteria: Congenital, rheumatic or ischemic heart disease; hypertension at the time of inclusion,endocrinopathy, renal failure, hepatic failure, severe anaemia (Hb% d”7gm/dl), immunodeficiency, connective tissue disease, vasculitis and ongoing febrile illness or any major surgery within last 3 months.

GROUP C: OSTEOARTHRITIS OF KNEE JOINTS

Inclusion criteria

Osteoarthritis of one or both knee joints resulting in significant pain, stiffness or difficulty in functioning.

Exclusion criteria

(1) Any operative procedure performed within the last 3 months.

(2) Any fracture around the knee joints within the last 3 months.

(3) Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within last 6 months.

(4) Any history of cyanotic heart disease.

(5) Valvular heart disease ( rheumatic/congenital/others ).

(6) Hypertension ( BP e” 160/90 mm Hg ) at the time of inclusion.

(7) History of epilepsy.

( Diseases of thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.

(9) Renal or hepatic failure.

(10) Severe anemia ( Hb% d” 7 gm/dl ).

(11) Immunodeficiency states, autoimmune disorders, vasculitis, connective tissue disorders ( previously

diagnosed or clinically evident ).

(12) Ongoing febrile illness.

GROUP INSOMNIA

Inclusion criteria

Patients between ages 15 to 60 years with average sleep duration of less than 5 hours in a 24 hour period for at

least one month or frequent waking up ( > 3 times per night ) resulting in subjective feeling of inadequate sleep.

Exclusion criteria

(1) Sleep apnoea syndrome ( central/obstructive ).

(2) Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus resulting in polyuria causing sleep disturbance.

(3) Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within last 6 months.

(4) Any history of cyanotic heart disease.

(5) Valvular heart disease ( rheumatic/congenital/others ).

(6) Hypertension ( BP e” 160/90 mm Hg ) at the time of inclusion.

(7) History of epilepsy.

( Diseases of thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.

(9) Renal or hepatic failure.

(10) Severe anemia ( Hb% d” 7 gm/dl ).

(11) Immunodeficiency states, autoimmune disorders, vasculitis, connective tissue disorders ( previously

diagnosed or clinically evident ).

(12) Ongoing febrile illness.

(13) Major surgical operation within last 3 months.

GROUP E: CHRONIC CONSTIPATION

Inclusion criteria

Any of the following for at least 6 months :

(1) Passed stool less than 3 times a week.

(2) Passes hard stool on more than 50% of occasions resulting in at least one episode of bleeding per rectum

in last 6 months.

Exclusion criteria

(1) Diagnosis of carcinoma of colon or any other intraabdominal SOL or obstruction of nay part of the GI

system or diagnosis of megacolon.

(2) Constipation regularly alternating with diarrhea.

(3) Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within last 6 months.

(4) Any history of cyanotic heart disease.

(5) Valvular heart disease ( rheumatic/congenital/others ).

(6) Hypertension ( BP e” 160/90 mm Hg ) at the time of inclusion.

(7) History of epilepsy.

( Diseases of thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.

(9) Renal or hepatic failure.

(10) Severe anemia ( Hb% d” 7 gm/dl ).

(11) Immunodeficiency states, autoimmune disorders, vasculitis, connective tissue disorders ( previously

diagnosed or clinically evident ).

(12) Ongoing febrile illness.

(13) Major surgical operation within last 3 months.

GROUP F: LOW BACK PAIN

Inclusion criteria

Low back pain present for more than 6 hours a day and 6 weeks at a stretch, with or without morning stiffness

and/or radiation.

Exclusion criteria

(1) Acute onset of severe low back pain.

(2) Any evidence of acute or progressive neurodeficit, including sensory or motor deficit, in lower extremities

or loss of bladder/bowel control or sexual dysfunction concomitant with the lower back pain or suspicion

of canda equine syndrome.

(3) X-ray/CT evidence of fracture of the vertebrae, any SOL, spondylolisthesis ( › Grade I ) or MRI evidence

of SOL, disc herniation or spinal chord/nerve root compression.

(4) Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within last 6 months.

(5) Any history of cyanotic heart disease.

(6) Valvular heart disease ( rheumatic/congenital/others ).

(7) Hypertension ( BP e” 160/90 mm Hg ) at the time of inclusion.

( History of epilepsy.

(9) Diseases of thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.

(10) Renal or hepatic failure.

(11) Severe anemia ( Hb% d” 7 gm/dl ).

(12) Immunodeficiency states, autoimmune disorders, vasculitis, connective tissue disorders

( previously diagnosed or clinically evident ).

(13) Ongoing febrile illness.

(14) Major surgical operation within last 3 months.

Methodology: All research subjects will receive therapy consecutively for three months, twice a week, free of

cost. Before participation, each subject or his/her guardians will have to submit relevant informed consent form

duly filled in and signed. Pre and Post data of daily therapy session including B.P. measure will be recorded

during each session. All data will be analysed and interpreted by qualified professionals and statisticians. After completion of the study, reports will be formally published by the foundation.

“Gert’s stereotyped behaviours had almost disappeared following Vibro Acoustic Therapy. While Gert himself remarked that, “vibroacoustic therapy made him feel more relaxed and less preoccupied with obsessive thoughts” Vibroacoustic therapy with handicapped and autistic adolescents, Persoons, J., De Backer, J. (1997)

Source: Music Vibration and Health. T. Wigram, C. Dileo (eds.), Cherry Hill, New Jersey: Jeffrey

By Olav Skille