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| Credit: Morguefile |
The research is important and shows a non-drug approach
from listening to music can reduce anxiety, calm and reduce a patient’s
perception of pain.
Patients in the study reported higher satisfaction with
their medical experience and required less sedatives and pain medication when
they were exposed to music.
Lori Gooding, UK director
of music therapy and lead author on the review said in a press release, "Here
at UK, our music therapists regularly use music-based interventions to help
patients manage both pain and anxiety.”
To facilitate healing from
surgery, therapists suggest letting the patient choose which type of music they
enjoy.
But the music also has to
have certain characteristics and be chosen by trained personnel to have the
desired effect. Giving patients a choice from several playlists is recommended.
For music to have a
positive effect on healing, it’s important for choose the right tempo and
rhythm. Volume control is also a consideration, the researchers note.
Pain and anxiety are
reduced when music is slow, gentle and calm. The
University of Kentucky, UK researchers, who reviewed studies for the
finding, suggest stays in intensive care units might be shorter with music
therapy.
Music therapists speculate that live music might be even better than recordings to help patients manage pain
and anxiety.
Gooding and her team have
implemented two pilot programs in the UK, based on the study findings.
“Our goal is to decrease patient pain and anxiety as well as improve satisfaction with the surgical experience," Gooding said in a media release. "We also hope the program benefits staff by allowing them to do their jobs more easily and effectively.”
Results of the music
therapy program for reducing pain and distress among pediatric patients will be
presented in 2013 by Gooding and her colleague Olivia Yinger at the
International Symposium on Pediatric Pain in Sweden.
The finding shows music
therapy might help reduce health care costs; improve patient satisfaction and
aid healing for patients undergoing surgery. A past study suggests music can have a protective effect against heart disease.
A study published last
April in the journal Music Medicine found music benefits for critically ill
patients on artificial (ventilator) life support.
Music in the operating room is also shown to help your surgeon
perform better.
Findings from the review
show patients exposed to music before, during and after surgery experience less pain, need fewer sedatives and are calmer.
Reference:
Gooding, Lori; Swezey, Shane; Zwischenberger, Joseph B.
Southern Medical Journal.
105(9):486-490, September 2012.
doi: 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e318264450c
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