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Nurse Rod Salise works in the hospital with all kinds of instruments: a thermometer, a stethoscope and sometimes his ukulele and ukulele.
In UC San Diego Health’s recovery unit, Salce helps patients manage pain after surgery. Along with medicines, he presents tunes on request and sometimes even sings. Their repertoire includes folk songs English And Spanish Favorites like Minuet in G Major and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.
patients Often smile or nod along. Salles also sees changes in their vital signs such as decreased heart rate and blood pressure, and some people may request less painkillers.
“There’s often a cycle of anxiety, pain, discomfort in the hospital,” he said, “but you can help break that cycle with music.”
Slesse is a one-man band, but he’s not alone. Over the past two decades, live performances and recorded music have flowed into hospitals and doctors’ offices as research grows on how songs can help ease pain.
Scientist Find out how music affects pain perception
Given music’s deep roots in human culture, the healing power of song may seem intuitive. But the science of whether and how music reduces acute and long-term pain – technically called music-induced analgesia – is rapidly advancing.
No one suggests that a catchy song can completely eliminate severe pain. But several recent studies, including journals Pain And scientific reports have suggested that listening to music can either reduce the perception of pain or increase a person’s ability to tolerate it.
What matters most is that the patients – or their families – choose the music themselves and listen carefully, not just as background noise.
How can music affect pain levels?
“Pain is a really complex experience,” said Adam Hanley, a psychologist at Florida State University. “It is created by a physical sensation and our thoughts about that sensation and the emotional reaction to it.”
Two people with the same condition or injury may feel different levels of acute or long-term pain. Or the same person may experience different types of pain from one day to the next.
Acute pain is felt when pain receptors in a specific part of the body – like a hand touching a hot stove – send signals to the brain, which processes short-term pain. Chronic pain usually involves long-term structural or other changes in the brain, which increase overall sensitivity to pain signals. Researchers are still investigating how this happens.
“Pain is interpreted and translated by the brain,” which can send signals up or down, said Dr. Gilbert Chandler, a specialist in chronic spine pain at Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic.
Researchers know that music can reduce sensation by distracting from pain. But studies also show that listening to favorite music is more helpful in reducing pain than listening to podcasts.
“Music is a distraction. It distracts you from the pain. But it does more than that,” said Caroline Palmer, a psychologist at McGill University who studies music and pain.
Scientists are still figuring out the different neural pathways at work, Palmer said.
“We know that almost the entire brain is activated when we engage in music,” said Kate Richards Geller, a registered music therapist in Los Angeles. “This changes the perception and experience of pain – and changes the isolation and anxiety of pain.”
Musical styles and active listening
The idea of using recorded music to reduce the pain associated with dental surgery began in the late 19th century, before local anesthetics were available. Today researchers are studying what conditions make music most effective.
Researchers at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands conducted a study on 548 participants, looking at how listening to five genres of music – classical, rock, pop, urban and electronic – increased their ability to withstand intense pain, as measured by exposure to very cold temperatures.
All the music helped, but there was no single winning style.
“The more people listen to a favorite genre, the more they can tolerate pain,” said co-author Dr. Amy van der Valk Boman. “Many people thought classical music would help them more. In fact, we’re getting more evidence that what works best is the music you love.”
The exact reasons are still unclear, he said, but it may be because familiar songs activate more memories and emotions.
The simple act of choosing is powerful in itself, said Claire Howlin, director of the Music and Health Psychology Lab at Trinity College Dublin, who co-authored a study suggesting that allowing patients to choose songs improves their pain tolerance.
“This is something that people can have control over if they have a chronic condition – it gives them agency,” she said.
Active, focused listening also matters.
Hanley, a psychologist at Florida State, co-authored a preliminary study suggesting that daily mindful listening may reduce chronic pain.
“Music has a way of lighting up different parts of the brain,” he said, “so you’re giving people this positive emotional surge that takes their mind off the pain.”
Now some doctors say that it is a simple remedy with no side effects.
Cecily Gardner, a jazz singer in Culver City, California, said she has used music to help her recover from serious illness and has sung for friends struggling with pain.
“Music reduces stress, fosters community and takes you to a better place,” he said.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.