Your Musical Self

Using music to learn, heal, and live

by Kimberly Sena Moore

Musical Analgesia: How Music Helps Pain

Can music really reduce our pain?

Published on May 19, 2011 by Kimberly Sena Moore in Your Musical Self

I used to provide bedside music therapy services at a medical hospital in Colorado. It wasn't a large hospital, but it was a good one that focused heavily on patient-centered care. The vast majority of patients I saw were either post-op, were oncology patients, or were in "transitional care" (e.g. they had to get stronger before they could be discharged).

When you work in a hospital--and especially when you're there just twice a week--chances are you only see patients once, maybe twice. And even when you do have a session, patients tire easily, so sessions typically lasted just 30 minutes.

What did this mean for me? It meant that, as a therapist, I had very little time to develop rapport with my patients and very little time to make some sort of therapeutic effect (and hopefully a positive one!).

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But here's the thing...it's still important to collect data. To measure whether your treatment worked. So, in addition to tracking basic demographic information, I'd collect the patient's self-reported measures of his/her pain, anxiety, nausea, and contentment levels both before and after the session.

In my 3 years at the hospital, I worked with--and collected data on--almost 600 patients. Of those patients, almost 150 reported feeling pain at the beginning of the session. And what happened after their 30ish-minute music therapy session?

Pain levels dropped by a third.

Research on Music-Based Analgesia

This anecdotal clinical evidence jives with emerging (and old) research on the analgesic effects of music. For example:

Just this week is was reported that researchers in the People's Republic of China investigated the effect of music therapy on breast cancer patients who had just had a radical mastectomy. They found that, when compared to a control treatment group receiving routine nursing care, those who received music therapy treatment had short- and long-term pain-reduction benefits.¹
The earliest reported study investigating the effect of music on pain was published in 1914 by Evan O'Neill Kane. He used a phonograph to calm patients in an operating room before administering anasthesia.²
A meta-analysis published in the mid-1980s found that music can be used to reduce pain and anxiety levels for a patients in surgery, those undergoing kidney dialysis, burn victims, neonates, and for those who experience pain during physical movement (e.g. childbirth, physical therapy treatment, and respiratory problems).²
Individual music therapy sessions helped reduce pain levels, increase relaxation, and improve physical comfort for terminally-ill clients in hospice.³
Patients who listened to music while getting prepped for surgery waited longer before requesting anesthesia and reported a more pleasant overall experience on the unit.⁴

These are a sampling of the dozens of studies investigating the analgesic effects of music. Some take into account self-report measures, other look at physiological indicators. All of them provide evidence that music can help you manage your pain. Whether post-op, undergoing chemo, are a burn victim, an adult, or a child, music therapy can work.

How to Use Music for Pain Management

So what does that mean for you and your loved one who is either experiencing pain now or is about to (e.g. with surgery)?

At best, whether you're in a hospital, rehab center, hospice, or assisted living facility, you can work with a board-certified music therapist who will provide an individualized treatment program that uses music to help alleviate your pain.

But what if a music therapist isn't available? One of the current theories explaining why music works as an analgesic is that it produces a positive emotional feeling in people...and it's this positive emotional feeling that produces the analgesic effect.⁵ This means that the music you choose should be music that makes you feel good. Doesn't matter what it is...only matters that you like it.

So stock up your iPod, mp3, or CD player with some of your favorite tunes. If you're in the hospital undergoing a procedure or if the pain gets bad? Then turn on the tunes! Better yet? Have a plan in place beforehand. Work out a cue with a loved one or trusted friend so they know that, when you say a certain word or make a certain gesture, it's time to turn on the tunes.

Follow me on Twitter @KimberlySMoore for daily updates on the latest research and articles related to music, music therapy, and music and the brain. I invite you also to check out my website, www.MusicTherapyMaven.com, for additional information, resources, and strategies.

References

Li, X.M., Yan, H., Zhou, K.N., Dang, S.N., Wang, D.L., & Zhang, Y.P. (2011). Effects of music therapy on pain among female breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Epub ahead of print 2011 May 3.
Standley, J.M. (1986). Music research in medical/dental treatment: Meta-analysis and clinical applications. Journal of Music Therapy, 23(2), 56-122.
Krout, R.E. (2001). The effects of single-session music therapy interventions on the observed and self-reported levels of pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation of hospice patients. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 18(6), 383-390.
Heitz, L., Symreng, T., & Scamman, F.L. (1992). Effect of music therapy in the postanesthsia care unit: A nursing intervention. Journal of Post Anesthesia Nursing, 7(1), 22-31.
Roy, M., Peretz, I. & Rainville, P. (2008). Emotional valence contributes to music-induced analgesia. Pain, 134(1), 140-147.