Therapy uses sound waves to activate healing in the body

When undergoing therapy, it's not unusual to lie comfortably on a bed. But this bed sends deep vibrations through the body.

It's a vibroacoustic sound bed, and it uses sound waves to activate healing mechanisms within the body. Different programs ---- each one lasts about 20 minutes ---- lead to different results.

"I can put you on one that'll have you ready to sleep, or I can put you on a program that'll have you ready to run a marathon," said Regina Murphy, who heads the program.

Through July, she is offering free sessions at the Medical Spa at Summerlin , 1000 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 10. To schedule an appointment, call 804-5899.

After July, the cost will be $1 a minute. Sessions run from 20 minutes to one hour . For more information, visit thesecretsofsoundtherapy.com.

Treatments consist of lying on a special bed with resonating speakers as you listen to music. It's been studied and fine-tuned for more than 30 years by the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., involving roughly 750,000 patients, with credible results.

A list of institutions regularly using vibroacoustic therapy includes Duke University Medical Center, Keele University in England and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

NASA employs the concept for astronauts living on the International Space Station, a mechanism to prevent bones from becoming brittle.

Northwest Las Vegas resident Terri Sallee said undergoing the sound therapy delayed her from going on dialysis. Blood pressure is an issue for most dialysis patients, but she credits sound therapy with helping her improve ---- her doctor has scaled back her daily medication to every other day.

"The blood work shows the change," she said. "My hemoglobin count was six . It should be above 12. I'm now at 14."

Murphy's own health problems led her to investigate the principles of sound therapy. She has used tuning forks for the past six years to help those seeking alternative healing after modern medicine has let them down. The vibroacoustic sound bed is her latest tool.

One of Murphy's beds was loaned to Music 4 Life, 6029 W. Charleston Blvd., where Judge Cedric Kerns of Las Vegas Municipal Court, Department 5 has sent troubled young people for treatment. Owner/operator Judith Pinkerton regularly uses musicology to help treat their drug addictions, so it was a natural step to have them undergo a session on the vibroacoustic sound bed.

"One girl literally said her headache was gone ... another girl released a lot of emotions. It was really cleansing for her," Pinkerton said. "Another one said she no longer needed a cigarette."

An iPod unit also is available, pre-programmed with sound therapy that applies to one's needs. The case can be worn, and benefits gained, at almost any time ---- while working, exercising or studying ---- all without using the ear buds. The cells are a ffected by the vibration if the metal speakers are up against the body.

"It's like the speakers (vibrating) when a car pulls up next to you," Murphy said.

Likewise, she said, an iPod case can be tucked under one's pillow for nighttime therapy.

One of the areas where users see an almost immediate effect is on pain. The NIH has shown a 65 percent reduction in pain and anxiety in patients. So why are many Americans unaware of this therapy?

"It would devastate our pharmaceutical industry," Murphy said.

Contact Summerlin and Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.