Listen for Your Health
September 17, 2007
By: Catherine Yeh for Body1
In the past, Westerners have had trouble grasping the concept of alternative medicine. Many doctors are hesitant to turn away from evidenced-based practices. It is often thought that the placebo effect is responsible for the impacts of alternative medicine. Over time however, studies are indicating that music therapy can be very effective when it comes to chronic pain.| Take Action | Tips to make music work for you:
Give yourself time to listen and enjoy the music.
Give yourself time to listen and enjoy the music.
Choose your own music! Those who chose their own sounds and songs experienced greater pain relief.
Keep the volume at a minimal level, so as not to disturb cortisol levels.
For best results, use headphones to block out unwanted noise.
For best results, use headphones to block out unwanted noise. |
A study published in The Journal of Advanced Nursing (June 2006) found that music can help alleviate neck and back pain. Forty patients at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation were evaluated. In the study, one group was directed to listen to their favorite pop songs or nature sounds on a headset for one hour each day. A second group was told to listen to jazz or symphony music, and the final group was not prescribed any music at all. Based on the pain scale used by the researchers, the two groups of patients who listened to music reported a 12 to 21 percent drop in their pain levels.
Sandra Siedlecki, Ph.D., R.N. and co-author of this study believes, “The effect may simply be due to music distracting your mind – or it could be that it induces muscle relaxation.”
Whatever the specific cause of the lessened pain, music appears to be able to start patients on the road to recovery. Similarly, the Cochrane Review of Evidence-Based Healthcare has found that patients exposed to music will rate their pain as less intense and even use lower doses of painkillers. On a scale of zero to 10, patients reported an average drop in pain of .5 due to listening to music.
“It’s not a huge amount, but that’s an average and for some people, it will be more, and for some it will be less,” says Marion Good, the other author of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation study, and professor of nursing at Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Good has been researching music for pain since her own encounter with back pain as a nurse. She has also prescribed herself music for pain relief.
Today, professors such as Good are paving the way for future study and advances. Students in the medical industry are being taught about the benefits of music, relaxation and other alternative medicine therapies. It is believed that music therapy’s influence will grow in the coming years. “This will be consumer-driven in the future…people will start asking for complementary therapies such as music to relieve their pain,” said Good.
The greatest part about music for pain relief is that anyone can try this safely, and in the privacy of their own home. Music has been shown to be effective in helping reduce other pains such as pain after surgery, labor pain, and burn treatments as well. It has been successful in boosting immune function, treating insomnia and high blood pressure, and enhancing quality of life for individuals with cancer.
It seems clear that music offers much more than entertainment for the ears. If you suffer from chronic pain or discomfort, cue up your CD player and give it a try.
Last updated: 17-Sep-07
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