Music as medicine

Dr J. Sreekanth, a senior consultant in internal medicine at Apollo Hospitals, believes in curing patients back to health along with helping them incorporate a sense of wellness and positivity in their lives. The doctor, who is also a trained singer and composer, uses music as a healing therapy  an additive aid to supplement medical care. The therapy, which comprises Indian classical music Carnatic and Hindustani classical  is usually given to three kinds of patients.

There are the out-patients, who are suffering from problems with a psychosomatic overlay (where the mind plays a predominant role over the disease) like chronic insomnia, depression, prehypertension or irritable bowel syndrome. Then there are the in-patients, who are anxious before a surgery, or are in the labour ward, in critical care or are semi-comatose. The third are the cancer or terminally ill patients, who could be in pain because of chemotherapy or depressed because of their condition and there could be a marked improvement through music therapy. Dr Sreekanth says, “Music helps in releasing endorphins which are the natural medication triggered to reduce any kind of pain in the body.”

How does the therapy usually work?  He says, “The kind of music prescribed differs from person to person. It depends on the patient’s age, ethnicity, cultural background and general receptivity towards music. Since it is very personalised, one has to come in for the therapy for five days a week, for one month where they’ll be made to listen to music through a headphone for 20 minutes; cellphones or any other kind of distraction is not allowed.”

Dr Sreekanth  shares two success stories. First is of a young PhD scholar, who at one time, was dealing with a lot of personal issues and as a result had high blood pressure and even wanted to end his life. He also suffered from lack of sleep, but in the first week of music therapy itself, the doctor found him snoring by the end of the seventh minute! “There was also an 80-year-old man who was suffering from the neurological disease, Parkinsons, which essentially hinders your movement.

Even he showed marked improvement quite early,” says the doctor, who is in his fourth year of practising music therapy. Dr Sreekanth, who conducted a session to educate doctors about this healing process on Sunday at Ramoji Film City says, that it is quite disappointing that the concept which had originated in India (its mention is there even in the Samaveda, which was written in 1200 BC), has found an audience in doctors and patients in the West,  but it hasn’t picked up in the country as much.

“I met the former President of India, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, when he was in the city recently and he was very keen on knowing more about the therapy and said that it must be taken up in a big way in India as well,” he says.