The Effects of Music Intervention in the Management of Chronic Pain: A Single-blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Journal

The Clinical Journal of Pain

Year

2011

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A music intervention method in the management of pain was recently developed while taking account of recommendations in the scientific literature. The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of this music intervention to the management of patients with chronic pain. METHODS: A controlled, single-blind, randomized trial was used. Eighty-seven patients presenting with lumbar pain, fibromyalgia, inflammatory disease, or neurological disease were included in the study. During their hospitalization, the intervention arm (n=44) received at least 2 daily sessions of music listening between D0 and D10, associated with their standard treatment, and then pursued the music intervention at home until D60 using a multimedia player in which the music listening software program had been installed. The control arm received standard treatment only (n=43). The end points measured at D0, D10, D60, and D90 were: pain (VAS), anxiety-depression (HAD) and the consumption of medication. RESULTS: At D60 in the music intervention arm, this technique enabled a more significant reduction (P<0.001) in pain (6.3 +/- 1.7 at D0 vs. 3 +/- 1.7 at D60) when compared with the arm without music intervention (6.2 +/- 1.5 at D0 vs. 4.6 +/- 1.7 at D60). In addition, music intervention contributed to significantly reducing both anxiety/depression and the consumption of anxiolytic agents. DISCUSSION: These results confirm the value of music intervention to the management of chronic pain and anxiety/depression. This music intervention method appears to be useful in managing chronic pain as it enables a significant reduction in the consumption of medication.

Music and Health Institute Terms

Anti-Anxiety Medication Intake; Anxiety; Anxiety Scales; Chronic Pain; Depression; Fibromyalgia; Home Setting; Hospital Setting; Hospitalized Patients; Medication Use; Mood Scales; Musculoskeletal Pain; Music Listening; Music Medicine; Pain; Pain Management and Control; Pain Score or Rating; Recorded Music Listening; Self-Report Measures; Visual Analog Scale (VAS)

Indexed Terms

Elderly; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety; Chronic Pain; Cost of Illness; Depression; Drug Utilization; Follow-Up Studies; Hospitalization; Pain Measurement; Single-Blind Method; Statistics, Nonparametric

Study Type

Randomized Controlled Trial; Quantitative Methods

PubMed ID

22001666

Document Type

Article

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