Rhythmic Rehab Inc., Cambridge, ON (2025)

08/21/2025

Music has a profound impact on the brain! ➡️ Swipe through to learn how Neurologic Music Therapy can support 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 individuals with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

A TBI is a brain injury 🧠 caused by an outside force, such as when an object pierces the skull or a strong force moves the brain within the skull. The leading causes of TBI are falls, blunt trauma accidents, vehicle-related injuries, assault and violence, and explosions.

Severe symptoms can include motor deficits, such as ataxia and spasticity, difficulty with cognitive functions, and speech impairments, such as slurred speech.

So, how can NMT help?

Neurologic Music Therapists (NMTs) use rhythmic entrainment ⏱️ to improve the control of walking and functional movement patterns. Playing instruments in therapeutic spatial configurations ↕️↔️ can help normalize fine and gross movement patterns to support ADLs! 💪🏻

Did you know oral motor control 👄 also shows the same sensitivity to rhythmic entrainment?! This means speaking in rhythm can support clear communication ❤️‍🩹 by improving the rate and pacing of speech.

Using the elements of music, NMTs can improve attention, memory, and executive functions. Cognitive rehabilitation 💭 is critical for addressing problems that arise in daily life, relationships, work, and community!

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/contact-us

07/30/2025

A technique that gets us moving: Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS®)!

This technique involves walking 🚶🏻‍♀️ to auditory rhythm 🎶 to restore a safe and functional gait pattern. It’s frequently used with stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative disorders.

Walking is naturally rhythmical! When we hear👂🏻a beat, it presents an optimization challenge to our brain. How can I get from point A to point B?📍

Rhythmic entrainment occurs when our auditory neurons fire in time 💥 with our motor neurons at the spinal cord level, even in individuals with neurologic impairment.

Did I mention it’s BEST PRACTICE in lower limb gait training by Heart and Stroke? 😏

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/

07/13/2025

A technique to restore language: Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT)!

This technique utilizes the rhythmic and melodic elements of music 🎶 to assist in language recovery. It is primarily used with individuals who have a disorder that affects language expression and comprehension called aphasia.

Did you know that singing coupled with left-handed rhythmic tapping reroutes speech pathways from the damaged ↪️ left hemisphere to the language-capable regions of the ↩️ right hemisphere?

Individuals with aphasia can translate singing to speaking by practicing phrases 💬 with the natural inflections of speech.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/

06/30/2025

June is Stroke Awareness Month! ➡️ Swipe through to learn how Neurologic Music Therapy can support 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 individuals post-stroke.

A stroke happens when blood stops flowing to any part of your brain, damaging brain 🧠 cells. The effects of a stroke depend on the type, area of damage, and amount of damage. Symptoms can impact cognition, sensorimotor function, and speech and language.

So, how can NMT help?

Neurologic Music Therapists (NMTs) use rhythmic entrainment to improve balance, coordination and walking (gait). When we hear a steady beat 🎵 our body is motivated to move - anticipating when and how to move based on what it has already heard. Exercises might include stopping and starting, changing speeds, turning and navigating surfaces while walking.

even lists RAS® as ‼️ best practice ‼️ for lower-limb gait training! 😎

NMTs also use familiar, over learned music 🎶 to with gaps for target words to trigger automatic speech. Singing functional phrases 💬 following the natural inflection 〰️ of speech can also support expressive language, autonomy, and independence! ❤️

For visual neglect and inattention, instruments 🛎️ in appropriate spatial configurations ➡️ ⬅️ can encourage spatial exploration 🔍 to the affected visual field! 👀

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/contact-us

06/26/2025

A technique that gets us singing: Musical Speech Stimulation (MUSTIM®)!

This technique utilizes songs and phrases to simulate prosodic speech gestures and trigger 💥 automatic speech . It’s primarily used with individuals who have aphasia due to stroke or dementia.

If I started to sing “Happy birthday to…” -
you filled in ‘you,’ didn’t you?

A simple, familiar or over-learned tune (such as Happy Birthday 🎈) can trigger automatic speech due to the strong association of melody 🎶 and text 💬 in long-term memory 💭. For people with aphasia, this often makes singing easier than speaking!

The songs used in this fill in the blank exercise depends on the musical preferences of the individual - the stronger the connection, the more effective it will be! ❤️

Complexity can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of target 🎯 words or by changing the location of a target word from the end of the phrase.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/

06/23/2025

Bringing this back for Brain Injury Awareness Month! 🧠🗓️

You can find ‘Rhythmic Rehab: The Role of Neurologic Music Therapy in Brain Injury Recovery’ 🧠🎶 in the December 2024 issue of the Review: Returning to Work After Brain Injury.

We know music has a profound effect on recovery, from cognitive 💭 and emotional ❤️ to motor 💪🏻 and communicative 👄 challenges. I’ve had the privilege of helping clients navigate these challenges and find their rhythm post-brain injury using NMT® to return to work and engage in preferred activities again.

Workplaces can not only support recovery ❤️‍🩹, but also benefit from the diverse experiences and perspectives that individuals living with brain injury offer. There is hope, there is help! Thank you OBIA👏🏻

06/10/2025

A technique that helps our voice: Vocal Intonation Therapy (VIT®)!

This technique uses vocal exercises 🎤 to develop, rehabilitate and maintain elements of vocal control. It’s frequently used individuals who experience voice 👄 abnormalities due to neurologic impairment or natural aging.

Singing is an effective ‼️ tool for voice rehabilitation because singing and speaking use the same vocal mechanisms to produce sound!

Vocal exercises, such as scales, are used to support breath control 🫁, inflection 📈, vocal loudness 📣 and overall voice quality!

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/

05/29/2025

May is Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month! ➡️ Swipe through to learn how Neurologic Music Therapy can support 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 individuals living with Huntington’s Disease.

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a genetic 🧬neurodegenerative disorder that causes cells in parts of the brain to die. Symptoms increase 📈 in severity as the disease progresses. Most common symptoms include chorea, involuntary dance-like movements, as well as difficulty with walking, talking and swallowing in addition to cognitive 🧠 and emotional ❤️ changes.

So, how can NMT help?

To support individuals navigate their diagnosis, NMTs might use improvisation 🎹, song discussion and songwriting 📝, guided relaxations 😌 and more.

Rhythmic entrainment 🎶 can be used as a compensatory strategy to improve sensorimotor function 💪🏻 in the early and middle stages. Speaking to a metronome ⏱️ can also help with speech rate and fluency irregularities associated with hyperkinetic dysarthria. As the disease progresses, maintenance of speaking voice 👄 and alternative 📲 means of communication contribute to quality of life! ❤️

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/contact-us

05/28/2025

May is Speech and Hearing Month! ➡️ Swipe to learn how Neurologic Music Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists can work together 🫱🏼‍🫲🏽 to support clients.

Speech Language Pathology (SLP) is a health profession focused on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of speech 👄 and language 📖 disorders. Here are some ways we cotreat:

✨Supporting patients post-stroke by creating functional phrases 💬 set to individualized melodies 🎼 to support expressive language

✨Working on voice quality 📣 through vocal exercises to improve 📈 articulation, inflection, intensity and resonance in individuals with dysarthria

✨Supporting clients with a stutter by speaking or singing in time ⏱️ to a metronome set to a therapeutically appropriate beats per minute (bpm)

✨Supporting oral motor development 👄 and respiratory strength 🫁 by playing a wind instrument such as the harmonica or recorder

✨Supporting nonspeaking children with AAC 📲 systems using musical prompts and cues 🎶

How do you cotreat with SLPs or NMTs?! Comment below👇🏻

05/21/2025

May is National Physiotherapy Month! ➡️ Swipe to learn how Neurologic Music Therapists and Physiotherapists can work together 🫱🏼‍🫲🏽 to support clients.

Physiotherapy (PT) is a health profession focused on restoring movement, function and wellbeing for rehabilitation, pain management and injury prevention through exercise prescription, manual therapy, the use of equipment and education. Here are some ways we cotreat:

✨Normalizing walking patterns🚶🏻‍♀️in patients post-stroke using rhythmic entrainment ⏱️

✨Working with clients post-injury or diagnosis to improve fine and gross motor skills, strength, endurance and range of motion 💪🏻 by playing instruments 🎹 🛎️ 🥁 in therapeutic spatial configurations

✨Restoring functional movement patterns🦵🏻by translating movements ↕️↔️ into sound patterns, a process called sonification 📣

How do you cotreat with PTs or NMTs?! Comment below👇🏻

05/09/2025

A technique that puts the fun in functional: Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP®)!

This technique utilizes musical instruments 🔔 in therapeutic spatial configurations ↕️↔️ to facilitate the training of functional movement skills. It’s frequently used with neurologic and orthopedic populations across the lifespan.

Instrument playing for motor rehabilitation supports:

✨ Sound-induced priming of the motor system
✨ Feedback-feedforward loops via rhythmic entrainment
✨ Auditory feedback from playing the instrument

AND it fulfills five core principles of motor learning: repetition, task orientation, feedback, shaping and motivation!

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/

05/05/2025

May is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month! ➡️ Swipe through to learn how Neurologic Music Therapy can support 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 individuals living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune condition that affects the brain 🧠 and spinal cord. The immune system mistakenly attacks 💥 the myelin sheath of the central nervous system. Symptoms of MS depend on the location of inflammation at any given time, making this an unpredictable❓disease. Symptoms may be mild or severe with short to long-lasting impacts. Symptoms impact cognitive, speech and sensorimotor functions.

So, how can NMT help?

Walking to rhythm, a process called rhythmic entrainment, can improve gait quality🚶🏻‍♀️while reducing fatigue perception! 😅 Movement-based exercises and instrument playing with rhythmic input can also support balance and coordination. For example, stepping on musical bells 🔔 to improve single leg balance 🦵🏻 and bilateral drumming 🥁 to target vestibular symptoms! 👀

Mixed spastic-ataxic dysarthria is also common in MS. Speaking in rhythm 🎶 can improve the rate and pacing of speech, while vocal exercises 👄 can reduce strain and improve speech inflection.

To support memory difficulties and word finding 💭, musical mnemonics can aid in remembering a routine or the names of important people and things.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? ➡️ Visit us at https://www.rhythmicrehab.ca/contact-us

Rhythmic Rehab Inc.

08/21/2025

07/30/2025

07/13/2025

06/30/2025

06/26/2025

06/23/2025

06/10/2025

05/29/2025

05/28/2025

05/21/2025

05/09/2025

05/05/2025

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