If you are suffering from the aches and pains of fibromyalgia, you may be ready to try something new to help ease those uncomfortable symptoms. Many fibromyalgia syndrome sufferers find that they are unable to achieve satisfactory symptom relief through the use of traditional medical therapies or drug interventions. Additionally, many of these medical therapies often cause uncomfortable side effects, making fibromyalgia even more difficult to deal with. Low frequency sound therapy may be just what you need to help get your health back on track.
What is Low Frequency Sound?
Sound is all around us on a daily basis. We hear many different types of sounds, including loud ones and quiet ones, sharp ones and dull ones. Sound is made up of energy particles that travel by wavelengths. These wavelengths can change in shape and form, altering the type of sound that is produced. The pitch of the sounds that we hear are actually determined by the frequency that a sound wavelength is traveling at: a high pitch noise is traveling at a high frequency while a low pitch noise is traveling at a low frequency.
Sound frequency is measured in units called Hertz. Low frequency sounds are comprised of those sound wavelengths that are between the range of 17 Hertz and 0.001 Hertz. Many animals, including elephants, whales, and giraffes, communicate with one another using low frequency sound. Humans cannot hear most of these low frequency sounds, because we only recognize sounds traveling at frequencies between 20 Hertz and 20,000 Hertz. However, our bodies can subconsciously receive and interpret low frequency sound waves.
What is Low Frequency Sound Therapy?
Low frequency sound therapy operates on the premise that low frequency sound actually has healing properties. Also known as infrasonic therapy (IST), low frequency sound is thought to travel through the body, directly stimulating your cells. Though you cannot actually hear these sounds, your body does receive the sound wavelengths and responds to them by healing areas that are affected by swelling, inflammation, or chronic or acute pain.
How Do You Use Low Frequency Sound Therapy?
Low frequency or infrasonic therapy is typically delivered in a hand-held or portable device. This device has a transducer that is very similar to that used in ultrasound technology. You simply run this transducer over various parts of your body in order to receive the healing benefits of the low frequency sound waves.
Low frequency sound therapy can also be delivered in specially designed chairs that are equipped with internal speaker systems. These systems deliver low frequency sound to your body while you are sitting in the chair. Both chair and hand-held systems often incorporate massage therapy in order to maximize the benefits of low frequency sound therapy.
What are the Benefits of Low Frequency Sound Therapy?
Low frequency sound therapy is thought to help relieve a variety of unpleasant physical symptoms, including:
- acute pain
- chronic pain
- joint pain and stiffness
- muscle pain
- fatigue
- sleep disorders
How Does Low Frequency Sound Therapy Work?
Low frequency sound therapy is thought to be effective in reducing painful physical ailments by stimulating cell reproduction and other bodily changes. In particular, low frequency sound therapy is thought to increase the production of hyaluronic acid (HLA), which helps to lubricate joints and relieves muscle and joint pain and inflammation. Low frequency sound also stimulates cellular repair, helping to increase overall bodily health and stamina.
How Does Low Frequency Sound Therapy Help Fibromyalgia?
Low frequency sound therapy is now being recommended for use in fibromyalgia patients. A recent study performed by the Sound Health and Research Institute found that low frequency sound therapy helped to reduce the widespread pain associated with fibromyalgia. It also helped to increase overall mobility. Fibromyalgia sufferers may also find that symptoms of fatigue, stress, and sleep disorders are reduced by using low frequency sound therapy.
The study delivered low frequency sound therapy through a portable device to fibromyalgia sufferers on a daily basis. Upon completion of the study, 89% of participants were reported to have experienced at least a 50% reduction in pain symptoms. Many of these patients also experienced periods of complete symptom relief when exposed to the low frequency sound therapy.
Costs of Low Frequency Sound Therapy
Though you can purchase your own infrasonic therapy system, these systems do tend to be quite expensive: the average cost of a low frequency sound therapy system is about $800. Physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and naturopaths often offer low frequency sound therapy services, which can reduce the cost of this treatment significantly.