The power of music: It relieves pain during and after surgery

The health benefits of music have been proven once again. Researchers at Brunel University and Queen Mary University of London have discovered that relieves pain when played before, after or during surgery of patients.

The study was conducted on 7000 patients. When researchers allowed the patients to listen to their favorite tune during surgery, the participants experienced their pain level drop by two points on a scale of 1 to 10. The patients also required less medication to ease their pain. At the same time, the patients felt more satisfied and less anxious by the procedure while listening to music.

The research, which was published in The Lancet found that even when the patients listened to music while under general anesthetic, they experienced a reduction in their levels of pain, although the effects were greater when they were conscious. However, music wasn’t able to reduce the hospital stay of these patients.

“Music is a non-invasive, safe and cheap intervention that should be available to everyone undergoing surgery,” said lead author Dr Catherine Meads from Brunel University.

“Patients should be allowed to choose the type of music they would like to hear to maximize the benefit to their wellbeing. However, care needs to be taken that music does not interfere with the medical team’s communication,” Dr. Meads added.

The research follows a recent study which showed that surgeons are placing patients at risk by playing music at operation theaters. The study analyzed 20 surgeries in the UK. It showed that staffs at some operation theaters are negatively affected by the music because nurses find it hard to hear commands, while anesthetics can’t tell a pulse from the beat.

However, the London based researchers praised the strong effects of music and advised that it be played to anyone undergoing surgery so long it doesn’t muddle the medical procedure.

To follow up on this research, the team has introduced a pilot program where music will be introduced into operative settings at The Royal London Hospital.

It seems that music can have a significant impact on patients and it could save the healthcare industry millions of dollars in pain relieving drugs.

“Music is a simple and cheap intervention, which reduces transient discomforts for many patients undergoing surgery,” said Dr Paul Glasziou from Bond University, Queensland, Australia.

“A drug with similar effects might generate substantial marketing…The very high heterogeneity…of effects among trials in the accompanying study highlights a research opportunity—to identify how to maximize the effect,” Dr. Glasziou added while writing in a linked comment.

Belief in the healing power and many other benefits of music is gaining momentum. Scientists are trying to better understand the role of music as a painkiller.

“However, it’s taken pulling together all the small studies on this subject into one robust meta-analysis to really prove it works,” said Dr. Martin Hirsch of Queen Mary University.