The Power of Purring

I’m getting to that age where I’m starting to think about hot flashes, hormones and hysterectomies. If that weren’t enough, apparently I also need to worry about losing it—bone density, that is.  

So, armed with a physician’s prescription for a bone density scan and a check for $250 (insurance doesn’t cover the procedure, thank you very much), I headed over to Pueblo Radiology for my very expensive, very painless x-ray. A few days later, the results were in:  my spine is in perfect shape; my hips, well, not so much. I have some thinning of the hip bones, called “osteopenia.” My bones were going through calcium faster than a Hummer (an automobile my mom affectionately refers to as a “Bummer”) goes through a gallon of gasoline. Never mind that I had broken my bank account in order to attain this news; I might actually fracture a hip if I didn’t put the brakes on my bone loss.

What’s a pre-menopausal, calcium-challenged gal to do? First of all, I knew I had to—pardon the pun—bone up on my knowledge of bone loss. I learned that, like most things in life, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. Too late for that, in my case. It was time to start popping pills. Expensive pills. But wait, it turns out I might be able to ditch the doctor and the drugs altogether and pick up a purring cat instead.

Scientists at the Fauna Communications Research Institute in North Carolina suggest that one of the reasons why a cat purrs is because it helps to heal and strengthen their bones and organs. And here’s the really neat part: a purring cat may help heal humans as well. Talk about your good vibrations! Now I consider myself to be, um, hip, to the latest scientific research, but this was a new one on me. Still, I liked what I was hearing and wanted to know more.

In a telephone conversation with Fauna’s president, Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, I learned that she has conducted studies on dozens of wild and domestic cats since 2001 and has recorded the purrs of five cat species:  the cheetah, puma, serval, ocelot and the domestic cat. von Muggenthaler’s research, in conjunction with NASA and others, suggests that low frequencies, at low intensity (such as the purr), are therapeutic. These frequencies can aid in increasing bone mass, the healing of fractures and repair of joints, and pain relief. In addition, tendons and muscles are strengthened, swelling is reduced, and dyspnea (breathlessness) is alleviated.

“Purring is not just a content mechanism,” von Muggenthaler says, “its survival oriented.”

All cats, she adds, exhibit strong purr frequencies that fall within 20 Hz. and 200 Hz. At a range of 25-100 Hz., bones are strengthened and fractures heal more quickly. Vibration at these frequencies has been proven by other researchers to be helpful in the fight against osteodiseases such as osteoporosis in humans.

With this new knowledge, that old physician’s proverb:  “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning,” just might have to be updated to read:  “Take one purring cat and call me in the morning.” I just hope that by the time I need a prescription for a purr-meister, I won’t need a hearing aid to help amplify the purring sound.

 

Although she’s not quite ready for dentures or Depends, Karen has recently started wearing glasses to read the tiny typeface on prescription pill bottles. Send her an email message (in large print, please) to:  karenleestevens@cox.net.

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By Karen Lee Stevens,
Founder & President, ALL FOR ANIMALS, Inc.
Copyright © 2008. All Rights Reserved.

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