Listening to music proven to reduce patient pain: Striking research results
Research by Canadian scientists has revealed that listening to music reduces pain caused by illness. According to the study, patients who listened to any genre of music felt less pain than those who did not.
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A new study conducted by researchers at Canada's McGill University has proven that music can play a significant role in reducing pain. In the study, the results of which were published last week, experts concluded that music functions as an effective pain reliever by acting as a distraction.
In modern medicine, the most common treatment methods used to reduce patient pain are listed as painkillers, physiotherapy, and talk therapy. The pain-relieving effect of music has been suggested by some scientists in the past. However, this claim could not be scientifically proven until last week.
In a study conducted by experts from McGill University with 60 participants, those involved in the study were exposed to low-level electric shocks. Afterward, one-third of the participants were instructed to sit in silence. Half of the remaining group was told to listen to music of their choice.
The remaining participants were played a specially selected English nursery rhyme called 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.' The tempo of the song played to this group was increased and decreased at specific intervals to identify the 'unique, natural rhythm' present in every human. Later, the nursery rhyme continued to be played to the individuals in this group at a tempo most suited to their own 'natural rhythm.'
THEY DEVELOPED A MUSIC THERAPY METHOD
The result of the research revealed that listening to any genre of music reduces the level of pain experienced by patients. On the other hand, it was determined that the pain level decreased more in participants who listened to the specially selected song at a 'tempo suited to their natural rhythm' compared to other participants. The researchers suggested that they had laid the foundation for developing a 'music therapy' method based on identifying people's natural rhythms during the study.
Professor Caroline Palmer, a neuroscientist at McGill University and co-author of the published paper, evaluated the study's results with the following statements:
'In the past, it was often suggested that relaxing or soothing music provided the best results as a pain reliever. But this claim had not been definitively proven before.'
The researchers noted that they want to test the 'music therapy tailored to a person's natural rhythm' technique they developed as a result of the study on people with chronic pain problems.