Very Cool article!!!!!! Thanks for sending it!!!

Hope you are doing well today!!!

Luv ya, Ari
----- Original Message -----
From: maria luisa mazzolenis <mmazzolenis@...>
To: <biosonic@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 1:57 AM
Subject: [biosonic] cat ' s purr


> By Lev G. Fedyniak, MD
> 02/07/2003
>
> A CAT'S HEALING PURR
>
> We've always intuitively felt that a cat somehow knows when
> we're not feeling well and even where it hurts. Got a headache
> and a cat just seems to wrap around your head. A stomachache
> and a cat can't seem to get off your abdomen. And purrs and
> purrs and purrs!
>
> It was always believed that a cat's purr was relaxing or stress
> reducing and that that led to any number of healthful benefits.
> While that may be so, science has shown that the cat's purr is
> much more than just relaxing. Remember that it's not just the
> sound of purring that's important but more the tremor or
> vibration it produces.
>
> A Cat's Nine Lives
>
> Interestingly, science has known for many years that vibrations
> at specific levels or frequencies cause healing changes in
> the body. They can, for example, induce bone growth and
> regeneration. Bone fractures heal faster and weakened bones
> begin to strengthen and rebuild.
>
> Also, in the higher frequency ranges, the production of the
> body's own natural anti-inflammatory compounds increases
> thereby reducing joint pain and swelling. There is further
> evidence of muscle, tendon and ligament repair within these
> frequency ranges as well, which has led to some popularity in
> sports medicine and gyms around the world, especially in the
> former Soviet Union where so much of this research was
> conducted.
>
> It was also known through various veterinary studies, such as
> the one reported in The Journal of the American Veterinary
> Medicine Association for example (J Am Vet Med Assoc 99;
> 214(9): 1336-41), that cats rarely suffer bone or joint related
> diseases, including hip dysplasia, arthritis and ligament
> problems. Even bone cancers, such as myeloma or
> osteosarcoma, are almost unheard of in cats.
>
> But it took researcher Elizabeth von Muggenthaler of the Fauna
> Communications Research Institute in North Carolina (FCRI),
> a specialist in the field of bioacoustics, to put it all together.
> Bioacoustics is the study of the frequency, pitch, loudness, and
> duration of animal sounds as it relates to the animal's behavior.
> Based on her research, she proposes that nature has endowed all
> kinds of felines with an evolutionary healing advantage in the
> simple act of purring.
>
> Remember that purring takes energy and cats purr not only
> when all is well, but also when the cat is giving birth, hurt or
> just scared. There has to be a very good reason for the energy
> expenditure to produce purring, especially when the cat is
> physically stressed or ill. It would have to be somehow
> involved in its survival, and Muggenthaler set out to find how.
>
> The Science Behind the Purr
>
> She recorded and then measured the purr of forty-four felids
> (members of the cat family) including cheetahs, ocelots, pumas,
> domestic cats, and servals. Cats, from your house pet to lions
> and tigers in the wild, generally purr in the range of 20 to 140
> Hertz (Hz). Some are as high as 150 Hz but the average
> housecat comes in at about 25 and 50 Hz.
>
> Research has already shown that exposure to frequencies at that
> same 20 and 50 Hz level induces increased bone density. In one
> study, for example, chickens were placed daily on a vibrating
> plate for 20 minutes, which resulted in stronger bone growth
> (National Geographic January, 2001 p. 11). Further, in 1994,
> Dr. Chen and his associates, working with rabbits, determined
> that frequencies of 25 and 50 Hz promoted bone strength by
> 20%, stimulating both the mechanism and speed of fracture
> healing (Chen et al, 'The Effects of Frequency of Mechanical
> Vibration on Experimental Fracture Healing'. Chinese Journal
> of Surgery, 32 (4), 217-219, 1994).
>
> There's even a popular saying amongst veterinarians, "If you put
> a cat and a bunch of broken bones in the same room, the bones
> will heal."
>
> There is also substantial documentation that low frequency
> vibration induces pain relief and healing of tendons and
> muscles, and cats purr at those very same frequencies.
>
> Remediation of other illnesses due to the cat's purring ability
> is also being put forward. For example, respiratory problems
> associated with heart disease in cats are almost non-existent.
> In fact, respiratory problems resolve quickly once purring is
> activated. Dr. T. F. Cook in 1973 wrote the article 'The Relief
> of Dyspnea In Cats By Purring' in the New Zealand Veterinary
> Journal (dyspnea is the condition of difficulty in breathing). It
> seems a dying cat had such difficulty breathing that the vets
> were considering euthanasia. But the cat was found to begin
> breathing normally once it began to purr! The purring appeared
> to open up the cat's air passages.
>
> Domestic cats are generally less prone to postoperative
> complications following surgeries. Other healing mechanisms
> associated with purring include large skin-tissue grafts that take
> quickly in cats without necrotizing. The list just continues on
> and on.
>
> In effect then, by changing the frequency of their purring, cats
> may be fine-tuning their healing abilities, and it is this unique
> healing advantage that has probably given rise to the notion of
> cats having nine lives. They survive conditions that normally kill
> other animals, such as falls from heights. In a study of 132 cat
> falls with an average fall height of 5 * stories, 90% survived.
> The record height for a cat falling and surviving is 45 stories!
>
> Muggenthaler concludes that such "an internal healing
> mechanism would be advantageous, increasing recovery time
> and keeping muscles and bone strong when sedentary."
>
> Vibrational Purr Therapy?
>
> The extrapolation of this research may prove vital. Studies
> continue regarding tissue exposure to frequencies between
> 20-50 Hz. For example, Dr. Clinton Rubin in a 1999 study
> discovered that such exposure creates the robust striations
> of increased bone density, suggesting applications for
> osteoporosis, particularly in post-menopausal women and
> the elderly.
>
> Ukrainian and Russian researchers discovered the benefits
> of using vibratory stimulation many decades ago and have
> employed these techniques in sports training and sports
> medicine. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, many of the
> treatment devices used by the Soviets have made their way
> into Western gyms and physical therapy treatment centers.
>
> Even the space program has found a benefit from the research.
> This breakthrough could help astronauts, who generally lose
> bone density in zero gravity, in maintaining healthy bones and
> resisting the problems of atrophy in outer space.
>
> But it's the cat's "healing by association" that most people find
> interesting: that ability of a cat to sympathetically help cure
> illnesses in people simply by being around them. Studies have
> also shown that owners, especially senior citizens, who have cats
> have lower blood pressure and can live longer than humans who
> don't own pets.
>
> Many individuals swear they can ease or completely eliminate
> their migraine headaches simply by lying down with a purring
> cat next to their head.
>
> Can't hit that minimum recommended daily dose of
> bone-enriching calcium? Maybe grabbing the nearest cat and
> holding it close may just prove to be the answer to brittle-bones.
>
> Having surgery? Perhaps after coming home, keeping a cat
> nearby will reduce your recovery time.
>
> So, go get a cat. Keep it happy and purring. You're both likely
> to be healthier and you'll have a great friend who truly
> understands how you're feeling.
>
> * Lev G. Fedyniak, MD began his medical career in alternative
> medicine, studying acupuncture, herbs and other healing
> traditions in China, Hong Kong, Canada, Ukraine and other
> parts of the world. Recognizing that the allopathic tradition
> was a necessary compon ent in treating illness, he trained in
> allopathic medicine to obtain the Doctor of Medicine (MD)
> degree.
>
> Dr. Lev makes his home in Ukraine and continues to study
> new approaches to treating illness and optimizing health from
> traditions all over the world. He publishes articles and books
> in the hopes of bringing such information to all who need it.
>
> He can be reached at DrLev@....
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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