Abstract
Background: Music-supported therapy has been shown to be an effective tool for rehabilitation of motor deficits after stroke. A unique feature of music performance is that it is inherently social: music can be played together in synchrony.Aim: The present study explored the potential of synchronized music playing during therapy, asking whether synchronized playing could improve fine motor rehabilitation and mood.Method: Twenty-eight patients in neurological early rehabilitation after stroke with no substantial previous musical training were included. Patients learned to play simple finger exercises and familiar children's songs on the piano for 10 sessions of half an hour. Patients first received three individual therapy sessions and then continued in pairs. The patient pairs were divided into two groups. Patients in one group played synchronously (together group) whereas the patients in the other group played one after the other (in-turn group). To assess fine motor skill recovery the patients performed standard clinical tests such as the nine-hole-pegboard test (9HPT) and index finger-tapping speed and regularity, and metronome-paced finger tapping. Patients' mood was established using the Profile of Mood States (POMS).Results: Both groups showed improvements in fine motor control. In metronome-paced finger tapping, patients in both groups improved significantly. Mood tests revealed reductions in depression and fatigue in both groups. During therapy, patients in the in-turn group rated their partner as more sympathetic than the together-group in a visual-analog scale.Conclusions: Our results suggest that music-supported stroke rehabilitation can improve fine motor control and mood not only individually but also in patient pairs. Patients who were playing in turn rather than simultaneously tended to reveal greater improvement in fine motor skill. We speculate that patients in the former group may benefit from the opportunity to learn from observation.
Highlights
Motor impairments are among the most common and most disabling consequences of stroke (Ward and Cohen, 2004; Dimyan and Cohen, 2011)
Aim: The present study explored the potential of synchronized music playing during therapy, asking whether synchronized playing could improve fine motor rehabilitation and mood
Our results suggest that music-supported stroke rehabilitation can improve fine motor control and mood individually and in patient pairs
Summary
Motor impairments are among the most common and most disabling consequences of stroke (Ward and Cohen, 2004; Dimyan and Cohen, 2011). Stroke patients showed significant improvements in fine motor control after music-supported therapy in which they learned to play the piano and drums during several weeks (Schneider et al, 2007; Altenmüller et al, 2009; Amengual et al, 2013; GrauSánchez et al, 2013). These beneficial changes persisted in a 3-week follow-up test (Villeneuve and Lamontagne, 2013). A unique feature of music performance is that it is inherently social: music can be played together in synchrony
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