A Possible New Form of Natural Pain Relief for Chronic Pain
Do you suffer from chronic pain? Do you also enjoy music? If you answered, “yes,” to both of those questions, there may be good news for you. A study published in the June issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing indicates music may effectively help lower pain, allowing you to achieve natural relief for your pain.
Chronic Pain
Unfortunately, it seems chronic pain is becoming more and more common among Americans in today’s society. Some of the causes of chronic pain include, but are not limited to:
· Arthritis
· Lupus
· Lyme Disease
· Fibromyalgia
· Injuries
· Spinal stenosis
While prescription painkillers are one option for pain relief, many individuals choose to try to relieve their pain naturally through the use of one or more of the following: acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy, reflexology, herbal therapy, and heat therapy. A new study indicates listening to music may be another type of natural pain relief individuals may use to relieve chronic pain.
Music for Chronic Pain
The researchers of the study wanted to determine not only if listening to music would lessen pain, depression, feelings of powerlessness, and disability, but they also wanted to determine if it mattered what type of music individuals with chronic pain listened to in order to achieve less pain. The study included 60 individuals who suffered from chronic pain, and were recruited from a chiropractic office and pain clinics in Ohio.
All of the participants in the study had suffered from chronic pain for at least six months or longer. More than half of the participants had not received any pain-related diagnosis; however, of those who did, osteoarthritis was the most commonly received pain-related diagnosis among individuals in the study.
The participants were divided into three different groups. One group acted as a control group and was not asked to listen to music during the study period. Another group was asked to choose their favorite music or nature sounds and to listen to it for one hour each day. The third group was asked to choose instrumental music provided by the researchers and told to listen to it one hour each day. The study lasted for one week. Participants were also asked to fill out surveys regarding their pain, disability, depression, and how powerful they felt to make changes in their lives both before and after the study.
Participants in both groups that listened to music for an hour each day for a week had less pain, disability, and depression and felt they had more ability to make changes in their lives at the end of the research study. More specifically, on average, depression decreased by up to 25%, self-rated disability decreased by up to 18%, pain decreased by up to 20%, and feelings of empowerment in one’s life increased by up to 8 percent. In addition, the type of music one listened to did not appear to make a difference as there were no statistically significant differences found among individuals who listened to their favorite music versus those who listened to music provided by the researchers.
This study indicates listening to music may help reduce pain, depression, and disability and improve feelings of empowerment over one’s life. The researchers note music is not necessarily meant to replace other types of pain therapy, but rather to supplement other types of pain treatment.
Source:
Fox News: Music May Ease Chronic Pain
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