Music as Pain Relief: Research on Post-Surgery Recovery

Introduction: Music Beyond Entertainment

The range of musical styles, formats, beats, and tempos is wider than the circumference of the whole world — perhaps even of the universe — and that is what makes listening so interesting and, in many cases, so pleasing. This paper delves into and reviews recent studies and experiments with music that open the door to new forms of fascination and inquiry. Specifically, it reports on an empirical research project examining how music helps reduce pain and helps patients return to normal sleep patterns following intestinal (INT) surgery.

Experiments in Music and Behavior

Most music is "foot-tapping" music, and most music has a "pulse, something you can tap your foot to," according to author Daniel J. Levitin. The sounds produced in Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women," and AC/DC's "Back in Black" are all prime examples of songs that are "rhythmically driven" and provide a "great groove" (Levitin 165–166). Levitin's book, This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, enthusiastically examines the nuts and bolts of "groove" by looking at Rick James' "Super Freak," Springsteen's "I'm On Fire," and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," among other up-tempo tunes.

But not everyone needs music for its "groove." Some need music to heal following surgery. An article in the journal Research in Nursing & Health reports on an empirical study during which "three non-pharmacological nursing interventions" — chosen music, relaxation, and a combination of both — were tested to evaluate the pain relief they could offer patients recovering from intestinal surgery (Good, et al. 2005).

The hypothesis of the study is that following serious surgery — in this case, intestinal surgery — patients could receive relief from some of their pain through the use of mellow music, rather than relying solely on heavy doses of medication. Analgesics are of course necessary for pain relief following surgery, but whenever healthcare professionals can limit the doses of analgesic interventions, they seek to do so.

Study Design and Patient Demographics

A total of 167 patients were "randomly assigned" to one of three intervention groups (Good 240). One group was given relaxation techniques, a second group received a mellow musical treatment, and the third group was given a combination of music and relaxation techniques. A fourth group, the "control group," received the usual pain medication but did not participate in music or relaxation exercises.

The rationale for this experiment was that doctors and nurses were seeking relief for patients who had just undergone INT surgery, which the article reports produces more postoperative pain than surgeries involving gynecological (GYN) procedures. The authors note that while music has been used as an intervention with patients recovering from GYN, cardiac, and abdominal surgeries, no previous investigations had examined postoperative musical interventions following INT surgery specifically.

The patients ranged in age from 20 to 70, and 95% were Caucasian. Sixty percent were female, 63% were married, 52% were Protestant, and 58% came from households earning $3,000 or less per month. Sixty-two percent had completed "some college," and 81% did not drink alcohol regularly. The average time spent in surgery for these 167 patients was 3 hours and 40 minutes. Most incisions (87%) were "vertical," and most (67%) "spanned both the lower and upper abdomen" (Good 242–243).