Rahlin M, Cech D, Rheault W, Stoecker J; Midwestern University, Physical Therapy Program, Downers Grove, IL; Sherman Health Systems, Elgin, IL, and Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, IL. mrahli@midwestern.edu.

PURPOSE: The research evidence supporting the use of music with children during physical therapy intervention is limited. The purpose of these single subject designs was to investigate whether the use of music would reduce the amount of crying exhibited by an infant and a toddler during physical therapy sessions. SUBJECTS: Subject A was a boy with a diagnosis of hypertonicity and a history of premature birth at 27 weeks gestation, with subsequent Grade II intraventricular hemorrhage. He participated in the study between the ages of 25 and 38 months. Subject B had a diagnosis of Erb’s palsy, with a history of severe weakness in her right upper extremity muscles. She participated in the study between the ages of eight and 20 months. METHODS: An A-B-A withdrawal single-subject design was used. Two subjects received physical therapy for twelve months. No music or singing was used during two four-month baseline periods. Music was introduced in the four-month intervention period. A Crying Log was developed to document the amount of patient crying at each physical therapy session using a four-point ordinal scale, from 1 – no crying or crying for less than 5 minutes, to 4 – crying for longer than 20 minutes. ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics and celeration line approach were used to compare the amount of patient crying among the three periods of the study. The percentage of total distribution of the Crying Log scores was calculated for the baseline and music intervention periods and plotted on a graph. RESULTS: Subject A received the scores of 3 and 4 at 23% and 33% of the sessions in the first and second baseline periods, respectively. He received the score of 3 only at 16.67% of the sessions in the intervention period, and was not assigned the score of 4. Subject B received the scores of 3 and 4 at 61% and 40% of the sessions in the first and second baseline periods, respectively. She did not receive the scores of 3 or 4 in the music intervention period. The celeration line analysis also showed that both subjects cried less when music was played during therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Music played in the intervention period may have reduced the amount of crying exhibited by the children. Further research is required to investigate the benefits of music used during therapy for infants and toddlers. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

Copyright 2004 by the American Physical Therapy Association

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