Interventions focused on singing may provide additional benefits to established voice and respiratory therapies, due to their greater emphasis on the respiratory muscle control system in those with Parkinson’s disease (PD) progresses. The purpose of this study was to examine if singing can improve voice, respiratory pressure and quality of life (QOL) in persons with PD. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressure, as well as phonation time. While other voice measures improved, they did not reach statistical significance. Voice QOL and whole health QOL also significantly improved.These results suggest singing may be a beneficial and engaging treatment choice for improving and maintaining vocal function and respiratory pressure in per- sons with PD.
Singing Helps Early-stage Parkinsons's Patients Retain Speech, Respiratory Control, Studies Show
Singing may help people with Parkinson's disease - especially in its earlier stages - because it strengthens muscles involved in swallowing and respiratory control, suggests two studies from researchers at Iowa State University. Parkinson's research and current treatments focus on symptoms relating to motor skills, and less on those like voice impairment, even though weakness in vocal muscles affects respiration, swallowing abilities and quality of life.
TIME Magazine: Singing Changes Your Brain
When you sing, musical vibrations move through you, altering your physical and emotional landscape. Group singing, for those who have done it, is the most exhilarating and transformative of all. It takes something incredibly intimate, a sound that begins inside you, shares it with a roomful of people and it comes back as something even more thrilling: harmony. So it's not surprising that group singing is on the rise.
Into the groove: Can rhythm influence Parkinson’s disease?
Previous research has noted that music can improve gait in several pathological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and stroke. Current research into auditory-motor interactions and the neural bases of musical rhythm perception has provided important insights for developing potential movement therapies. Specifically, neuroimaging studies show that rhythm perception activates structures within key motor networks, such as premotor and supplementary motor areas, basal ganglia and the cerebellum – many of which are compromised to varying degrees in Parkinson’s disease.