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For people who’ve lived through a serious accident, rehabilitation can be slow, painful, and tiring.

But therapists around the country now have a new tool that can help their patients work longer, harder, and keep their spirits higher.

It’s called music therapy, and it helps patients like 18-year-old Melissa Wilson, who got into an accident while driving three months ago.

“My dad said that the dump truck that hit me was the biggest dump truck that he had ever seen,” she says.

Much of Melissa’s left side was shattered, including her hip, leg, pelvis and foot.

“She’s in a lot of pain,” says Beth Collier, a music therapist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “She needed to strengthen her upper body – because she is going to be using a wheel chair for quite a while.”

To re-gain her strength, Melissa started working out by playing the drums and other percussion instruments.

Beth would have Melissa play a tambourine in positions over her head, or to her side.

Kids who need therapy could work out in a gym in silence — or try more traditional exercise.

But playing music is far more fun, and it distracts them from the pain.

“It’s like a vacation in a bad situation,” says Melissa.

“I can move a drum to work that left hand, and move it up higher and higher and higher, and they’ve worked out that hand and not even thought twice about it,” says Beth.

And, one day, Melissa may re-learn to walk – with the help of a drum.

“There’s even research to support [that] when a beat, a steady beat is presented – that’s similar to the cadence or the rhythm of the person walking – it will help organize their muscle movement,” says Beth.

Melissa’s goals for the future, meanwhile, are simple.

“My hopes right now are to be able to walk again,” she says, “because you realize how important walking really is to you.”

What We Need To Know

• Music therapy can benefit patients of all ages. It is used in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, private practice, and nursing homes. (American Music Therapy Association)
• Increasingly, insurance companies are beginning to pay for music therapy. Also, a music therapist can be embedded in a rehabilitation program that is paid for by insurance. (American Music Therapy Association)
• Often a music therapist will ask patients to play the drums. It is a simple instrument to learn, and can provide a good workout. (Beth Collier, Music Therapist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta)
• Music therapy can help patients with neurological issues to build and maintain muscle tone. Such patients may be suffering from a stroke, brain injury, or brain tumor. (Beth Collier, Music Therapist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta)
• Music therapists sometimes work alongside a physical therapist. The music helps distract the patient from the pain. (American Music Therapy Association)
• Singing is another form of music therapy. It’s sometimes used to help patients strengthen their voices after a tracheostomy. (Beth Collier, Music Therapist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta)
• Songwriting is another form of music therapy that can help patients deal with emotion. Sometimes therapists will have children who’ve lost a loved one write a song about their feelings. (Beth Collier, Music Therapist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta)
• An accident can drastically alter a patient’s life. Incorporating a patient’s favorite music into therapy allows the person to take comfort in something familiar. (Beth Collier, Music Therapist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta)
• Music therapy can be social. Sometimes therapists will set up drum circles. (American Music Therapy Association)

Resources

• American Music Therapy Association
• Journal of Music Therapy
• Music Therapy Perspectives

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