A Didgeridoo?

Hi all,
Has anyone tried to play a didgeridoo? Someone just told me that he has a friend who swears that it has built up his throat muscles to the point of not needing a cpap. Worth a try.

This is a relatively new approach for treatment of OSA. Few studies have looked at it but I did come across this one:

BMJ. 2006 Feb 4;332(7536):266-70. Epub 2005 Dec 23. Links
Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial.Puhan MA, Suarez A, Lo Cascio C, Zahn A, Heitz M, Braendli O.
Horten Centre, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of didgeridoo playing on daytime sleepiness and other outcomes related to sleep by reducing collapsibility of the upper airways in patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and snoring. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Private practice of a didgeridoo instructor and a single centre for sleep medicine. PARTICIPANTS: 25 patients aged > 18 years with an apnoea-hypopnoea index between 15 and 30 and who complained about snoring. INTERVENTIONS: Didgeridoo lessons and daily practice at home with standardised instruments for four months. Participants in the control group remained on the waiting list for lessons. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Daytime sleepiness (Epworth scale from 0 (no daytime sleepiness) to 24), sleep quality (Pittsburgh quality of sleep index from 0 (excellent sleep quality) to 21), partner rating of sleep disturbance (visual analogue scale from 0 (not disturbed) to 10), apnoea-hypopnoea index, and health related quality of life (SF-36). RESULTS: Participants in the didgeridoo group practised an average of 5.9 days a week (SD 0.86) for 25.3 minutes (SD 3.4). Compared with the control group in the didgeridoo group daytime sleepiness (difference -3.0, 95% confidence interval -5.7 to -0.3, P = 0.03) and apnoea-hypopnoea index (difference -6.2, -12.3 to -0.1, P = 0.05) improved significantly and partners reported less sleep disturbance (difference -2.8, -4.7 to -0.9, P < 0.01). There was no effect on the quality of sleep (difference -0.7, -2.1 to 0.6, P = 0.27). The combined analysis of sleep related outcomes showed a moderate to large effect of didgeridoo playing (difference between summary z scores -0.78 SD units, -1.27 to -0.28, P < 0.01). Changes in health related quality of life did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: Regular didgeridoo playing is an effective treatment alternative well accepted by patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

Patients only had moderate OSA. The didgeridoo group did have significantly (only just significant) less events compared to the control group (~6 events per hour difference). Given the results, I wouldn't be too confident in suggesting that you go out and buy a didgeridoo as an alternative treatment. But then again, they are fun to learn!

Some info.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 094017.htm

http://sleep-disorders.suite101.com/art ... idgeridoos

It's been posted here a lot mostly by a group in california trying to sell them. Or better put Spam them here. jim

What about the neighbours

zorrro13 wrote:What about the neighbours

They should be thankful they don't live next to me. I play the bagpipes.

I play piano accordion, No kidding ! I can confirm that it has done nothing to control my apnea although it has helped in removing all my chest hair as I like to play topless

Maybe Bagpipes?

I wonder what it is about the didgeidoo that strengthens muscles?
That first article......doesn't it essentially say that the didgeridoo players had less apnea, but their quality of life didn't change??

Interesting concept, I know many didg players and will ask, however as I live in such a remote and mainly aboriginal populated area, it is not proper for a woman to play the didg, they view this as being a phallic symbol and unacceptable for females to play or even touch, i play the sticks and the drums, i am afraid these wont build throat muscles...............GVD

Country4ever wrote:I wonder what it is about the didgeidoo that strengthens muscles?
That first article......doesn't it essentially say that the didgeridoo players had less apnea, but their quality of life didn't change??

It's apparently the WAY it should be played--called circular breathing. I bought one, but have not started playing much yet. Can't seem to get the hang of the circular breathing aspect.

http://www.didjshop.com/shop1/make_your ... ridoo.html (make your own)

http://www.didgeridoostore.com/howtoplay.html


Pam

Great links Wearyone! Thanks!
I might try a PVC didg. Where did you order your's from?

Country4ever wrote:Great links Wearyone! Thanks!
I might try a PVC didg. Where did you order your's from?

Might try suckers.are.us.com I bet if you spent the same amount of time blowing on a iron water pipe, you could strengthen the same muscles, and increase your iron stats too. Jim

For what it's worth, I find that my apnea and my snoring get better when I'm singing regularly.

About 6 months ago, my barbershop quartet disbanded, and so my throat muscle tone is starting to lapse, but I really do think the regular singing helped, so perhaps a didgeridoo would have the same effect.

Liam, who does a pretty good a cappella imitation of a didgeridoo.

I think it makes sense that strengthening the throat muscles would help. They would still relax while sleeping, but more tone to start with should also lead to more tone while relaxed. There are exercises to help strengthen the swallow reflex....

This whole discussion has given me some ideas to think about. There is not "one" cause for OSA, so as with any idea, you mileage will vary, but I think there is merit in this circular breathing theory. Besides, playing a didgeridoo would be a lot more fun than blowing into a pipe.