Effect of oriental medicine music therapy on idiopathic chronic fatigue: A case study

IntroductionChronic fatigue is a “persistent and recurrent fatigue” that lowers an individual's quality of life. The cause and treatment of idiopathic chronic fatigue (ICF) have not been clearly established. Oriental medicine music therapy (OMMT), which is one of the alternative therapies applied to many chronic diseases, is distinct from conventional music therapies in terms of active participation and being originated from the theory of traditional oriental medicine. Many studies have shown that patients with chronic fatigue are related to hypocortisolism. Based on salivary cortisol concentration, a validated fatigue severity scale (FSS) and visual analog scale (VAS) of overall fatigue, we identified a patient who recovered from ICF with the aid of OMMT.Materials and methodsAn outpatient with ICF was treated with OMMT for 40 min (1 session) 3 times a week. The treatment included listening to selected music and playing a musical instrument under the direction of an oriental music therapist. Twelve sessions of treatment were conducted, with salivary cortisol concentration measured before each session. The FSS and VAS were checked each week.ResultsAfter treatment with OMMT, the values of the FSS and VAS were significantly decreased. In contrast, the salivary cortisol concentration increased, which generally could indicate a recovery from chronic fatigue.ConclusionsThis case suggests that OMMT may be an alternative treatment for ICF.