Sound therapy has made a resurgence in popularity in recent years. It’s a unique modality that has been found to lower stress, decrease pain, improve sleep and lower blood pressure. All forms of sound therapy can be beneficial, whether it’s singing bowls, gongs or tuning forks. By using specific rhythms and frequencies, sound therapy can shift the brain to a theta state of deep relaxation, and even to the delta state where deep healing can occur. Sound therapy taps into the understanding that all things have a vibrational frequency, and therapeutic sound waves can change brain frequencies. When sound therapy with tuning forks is combined with acupuncture and channel theory, the healing effect can be even greater. 

 Tuning forks have traditionally been used to tune musical instruments; however, when placed on certain acupuncture points on the body, tuning forks have been found to help bone and muscle pain as well as chronic pain associated with conditions like fibromyalgia. It is believed that the vibration of the tuning fork travels through the water of the body to help heal physical and emotional issues. While the exact mechanism of how this works is still not completely understood, preliminary studies seem to indicate that tuning forks put the body into a parasympathetic state. This state allows cellular healing and regeneration.

 An acupuncturist using tuning forks will be able to combine knowledge of Chinese medical theory with placement of tuning forks on the body. Some practitioners find that tuning forks are just as effective as needles, and for people who are needle-phobic, it can be a fantastic alternative.

 To get more technical about how it works: "Everything in the universe has a vibrational frequency," explains Mark Menolascino, M.D., an integrative and functional medicine practitioner. "We're hard-wired to have sound be part of us. In the brain, all our neurons fire at different frequencies based on the data they receive from things around us. Those vibrations interact with every cell in your body."

Hillary Morris is a licensed Acupuncture Physician with 20 years of experience. She owns Stuart Acupuncture located at 7000 SE Federal Hwy, Stuart. For more information, visit StuartAcupuncture.com or call 772-266-8165.