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Being interested in music - I don't play an instrument but do sing in a choir - I was interested in the reports that playing the didgeridoo could help with OSA - and wondered if this was an urban myth.
From what I can gather this is based upon research carried out in Switzerland in 2005 and published in the British Medical Journal of Dec. (Dr Milo Pulan et al) Here is the link for those who wish to read the study:
This makes interesting reading and the conclusions that "proof of concept" was established seem pretty sound, but as the authors say the research needs following up with larger scale studies (Only 25 subjects split into two groups in this study) and with more diverse populations. I can't find any follow up studies at the moment and think this is a pity. Apparently there are similarities in playing the didgeridoo to the breath control required to play the Tuba and Trombone. So it would be interesting to see if brass band players suffered less OSA than the general population! A fruitful area for further research.
The physiological reasons are a bit beyond me - I have read a bit about circular breathing - Kenny G does it on his saxophone - and can apparently maintain a note without stopping for long periods of time - by simultaneously breathing in through the nose while blowing out through the mouth!
So are there are any tuba or trombone players on this forum who suffer from OSA?
From what I can gather this is based upon research carried out in Switzerland in 2005 and published in the British Medical Journal of Dec. (Dr Milo Pulan et al) Here is the link for those who wish to read the study:
This makes interesting reading and the conclusions that "proof of concept" was established seem pretty sound, but as the authors say the research needs following up with larger scale studies (Only 25 subjects split into two groups in this study) and with more diverse populations. I can't find any follow up studies at the moment and think this is a pity. Apparently there are similarities in playing the didgeridoo to the breath control required to play the Tuba and Trombone. So it would be interesting to see if brass band players suffered less OSA than the general population! A fruitful area for further research.
The physiological reasons are a bit beyond me - I have read a bit about circular breathing - Kenny G does it on his saxophone - and can apparently maintain a note without stopping for long periods of time - by simultaneously breathing in through the nose while blowing out through the mouth!
So are there are any tuba or trombone players on this forum who suffer from OSA?
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