According to a team of Italian researchers reporting in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, music may help Parkinson's patients not only stay limber, but move faster and feel happier. Comparing 16 patients in a weekly physical therapy program with 16 patients in a music program, scientists found that music improved overall daily performance better than physical therapy. This was demonstrated in the measurably enhanced ability to perform practical tasks, such as cutting their food and getting dressed.

There was also a reduction in freezing among the music group. Dr. Fazzini notes, "A lot of times Parkinson's patients can dance beautifully when they can't walk...because they bring the unconscious into the conscious." In other words, the beat of the music gives them the cue to move. While this is helpful in many circumstances, Dr. Fazzini cautions that taking music with you can be a dangerous distraction—for example, when an elderly person is walking on the side of the road and must listen for approaching cars. Used wisely, music can improve the Parkinson's patient's quality of life.