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This is one of the frequent questions I get when I'm out speaking around
the country. Most people are aware nowadays that many painkillers,
especially narcotics, can be habit-forming and later, addictive. I
guess I want to believe that modern medicine has its good parts and its
not-so-good parts. Brilliant doctors and nurses are restoring people to
health every day but I also believe that we were given brains for a
reason. Accepting everything that a medical professional tells you,
without questioning at all, is not smart. And of course I think that
you should question me too!
That is why I try to base all of the information that I send out to my readers on solid, empirical data, collected in hospitals and clinics from around the world. Is there hard data our there on music and pain management? You bet! Today I will share just a couple of the most recent with you. A study entitled "Relaxation and music reduce pain after gynecologic surgery" appeared in June of 2002 in the journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses. The study reported: The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effect of three nonpharmacologic nursing interventions: relaxation, music, and the combination of relaxation and music on pain following gynecologic (GYN) surgery. A total of 311 patients, ages 18 to 70, from five Midwestern hospitals, were randomly assigned using minimization to either three intervention groups or a control group and were tested during ambulation and rest on postoperative days 1 and 2. Pain sensation and distress were measured using visual analogue scales. Multivariate analysis of covariance of posttest sensation and distress was used with pretest control and a priori contrasts. The intervention groups had significantly less posttest pain than the control group (p =.022-.001) on both days. The three interventions were similar in their effect on pain. Patients who received the interventions plus patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) had 9% to 29% less pain than controls who used PCA alone. Reduced pain was related to amount of activity (ambulation or rest), mastery of the use of the intervention, and decreased pulse and respiration. Those who slept well had less pain the following day. Nurses who care for GYN surgical patients can provide soft music and relaxation tapes and instruct patients to use them during postoperative ambulation and also at rest on days 1 and 2. |
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Another study entitled "Relaxation and music to reduce postsurgical pain"
investigated the effects of relaxation, music, and the combination of
relaxation and music on postoperative pain, across and between two days
and two activities (ambulation and rest) and across ambulation each day.
They found that after surgery, patients do not always receive sufficient
relief from opioids and may have undesired side-effects. More complete
relief (10-30%) was found recently with adjuvant interventions of
relaxation, music, and their combination. Both of these studies can be
found at
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez and you just search for music and
pain management. You probably know that I have tapes and CD's for surgery which can be bought through the links on this mailing! People also use the lullaby CD and the Music for Memory Care CD. I am just starting a service of home visits with people in this area who are having surgery and would like a pre-surgery consult on how they can incorporate music into their healing process. Let me know if you're interested. Have a great day! Alice |
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All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed, Second, it is violently opposed, Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Schopenhauer |
Healing Music Enterprises 2518 Frankfort Ave. Louisville, KY 40206 502-419-1698 |