The Healing Music Organization - Music Therapy for Chronic Pain

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	News Source: Diabetes Forecast
	Date Released: September, 2002
	Website: www.diabetes.org

By Shauna S. Roberts

Serious pain is a serious problem for some people with diabetes. Sometimes, pain persists no matter what medicines doctors throw at it.
When drugs alone are not enough, a variety of other therapies may help. Exercise, meditation, and massage, for example, sometimes reduce pain. One new and still controversial non-drug method for helping to relieve pain is music.

The Evidence

How can scientists tell whether a proposed pain treatment works? Before and after the treatment, they can ask the patient about the level of pain, or they can observe the patient's outward signs of pain, or they can measure the patient's use of painkillers.

These different methods produce different results. Most studies of music and pain have involved playing music for people who've just had surgery. In these studies, music usually--but not always--reduces some component of reported pain. In some studies, music lowered both post-operative physical pain and emotional distress. In other studies, music lowered only emotional distress. And sometimes, music had no effect.

Generally, to the experienced eye, music does cause people to look as if they are in less pain. But it generally does not lower the amount of pain medicine patients take after operations. Further research is needed to resolve this discrepancy.

Similarly, studies in the journals Chest and Pain indicate that music can reduce pain and anxiety in people who are undergoing painful medical procedures.

Short-term pain differs in some ways from long-term pain. So even though music often eased pain in these experiments, its effects on long-term pain could be different.

How Music Dampens Pain

If music helps with pain, it's unclear why it does so. But there are several theories:

* Music may distract a person's attention.

* Music may cause the body to release endorphins (hormones that counteract pain).

* Slow music may relax a person by slowing breathing and the heartbeat.

* Music may give the person a sense of control.

What to Do

It's worth fighting chronic pain on many fronts, with more than just painkillers for ammunition. Music is one more weapon you can try--but it's worth asking your doctor about other non-drug options as well.

Music therapy is a recognized form of therapy and is sometimes covered by insurance. Formal music therapy sometimes involves just listening to music. But other times, the patient takes a more active role--singing, playing an instrument, or moving with the music. To find a music therapist, contact the American Music Therapy Association, Inc., at info@musictherapy.org or (301) 589-3300.

What if you prefer a do-it-yourself approach? Little is known yet about what music works best for pain control, and whether different music works better for different people.

Scientists do know that body functions such as breathing rates tend to change to match the pulse of music. So music with a slow beat is relaxing, while music with a fast beat is invigorating. Otherwise, you'll need to experiment to learn what music makes you feel better.

MORE INFORMATION

Shauna S. Roberts, PhD, is a science writer in New Orleans, La.

This article first appeared in the September, 2002 issue of the Diabetes Forecast. Visit their website at www.diabetes.org

Free DHTML scripts provided by Dynamic Drive	Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation. Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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