Rhythm-centred music interventions for motor coordination and rehabilitation: a scoping review of mechanisms, design principles, and technology-assisted assessment

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To map the evidence on rhythm-centred music interventions and movement-directed music-based strategies for motor coordination and rehabilitation, and to summarize their mechanisms, design principles, and technology-assisted assessment approaches. METHODS: This scoping review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO were searched for English-language empirical studies published from January 2013 to December 2024. Studies were eligible if music or rhythmically structured auditory input was used as a movement-directed intervention and at least one motor, coordination, functional, or movement-quality outcome was reported. RESULTS: Sixty-three studies were included. Coordination-related tasks were the most common targets, while lower-limb/gait function and fine-motor skills formed the largest movement categories. Rhythm was the most frequently used musical element, whereas melody, pitch, motivational music, active music making, and interactive digital systems served more context-dependent functions. Technology-assisted assessment, including sensors, motion capture, gait-analysis platforms, and music-interactive software, was the most common measurement approach. CONCLUSION: Rhythm-centred and music-based motor interventions are heterogeneous and should be interpreted as descriptive evidence patterns rather than definitive estimates of therapeutic efficacy. Future studies should improve terminology, intervention parameterization, population-specific interpretation, methodological transparency, and multimodal mechanistic validation.