The effect of instrumental and vocal music on adherence to a physical rehabilitation exercise program with persons who are elderly

This study compared live, instrumental music, vocal music, and no music on the repetition frequencies for 14 prescribed physical therapy rehabilitatio n exercises. Male (N = 4) and female (N = 15) residents of care centers for older adults served as subjects. They ranged in age from 65 to 90 years (M = 84.3), and were either referred to physical therapy or were already invo lved in a physical therapy exercise program. All subjects (N = 19) particip ated in 6 treatment sessions under 3 conditions: Two sessions with live ins trumental music, two with live vocal music, and two with no music. In all m usic sessions, familiar and recognizable songs were paired with specific ex ercises. Each exercise in all conditions had the same duration, and a metro nome established consistent tempos. Each session was videotaped for later r eview and data collection. Analyses of variance were calculated for treatme nt effects and mean differences among the three conditions which yielded si gnificant treatment effects and treatment differences among conditions for 6 of the 14 exercises. Unsolicited comments from subjects indicated prefere nce for music over no music conditions while exercising. Further study is r equired to establish the relationship between music enhanced exercises and adherence to exercise regimens in populations of older adults.