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He’s part physician, part musician. A doctor in Kitchener is helping his patients improve their lung function with a tiny little instrument. And you won’t find it in an operating room. Elise Copps has his story.
They call him Harmonica MD. Dr. John Schaman is the brains and mouth behind a one of a kind program that uses specialized harmonicas to help patients improve their lung function. “Of all the tests known to mankind, all the medical, scientific tests known to mankind, the one test that is the best predictor of longevity is the lung tests.”
Between age 30 and 70, we lose about half our lung capacity. With that in mind, Dr. Schaman developed a series of exercises and a medical harmonica to play them on. It looks very similar to a harmonica, but the medical harmonica allows you to play four times as many chords as an ordinary harmonica and that’s important because chords are what exercises the lungs. “You have to work harder to move that air compared to a single note.”
According to Dr. Schaman, long tones, stretch your lungs outside their comfort zone to increase capacity. Quick in and out breathing works the accessory muscles. “Afterwards when you breathe, you’ll feel a soreness in the muscles of breathing because they’ve been worked out. Kind of like lifting weights.”
With regular practice, most of Dr. Schaman’s patients see an improvement in lung function.
When Rajko Hajder started playing, his lungs were damaged by a surgery to remove blood clots. “I couldn’t take a deep breath.” Nine months later, he’s setting the pace for his classmates.
Ultimately, students weave their new skills into music. It’s a secondary goal to improving lung function, but Dr. Schaman believes the two can be achieved in perfect harmony.
