Resources & references

Read a meta-analysis investigating the effects of music on pain. Results indicate that music therapy may be an effective complementary approach for the relief of acute, procedural, and chronic pain in the medical setting.

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of two music therapy protocols on pain, anxiety, and muscle tension levels during dressing changes in burn patients. Twenty-nine inpatients participated in this prospective, crossover randomized controlled trial. Patients practiced music-based imagery (MBI), a form of music-assisted relaxation with patient-specific mental imagery before and after dressing changes. Also, the patients engaged in music alternate engagement (MAE), which consisted of active participation in music making. Conclusion: music therapy significantly decreases the acute procedural pain, anxiety, and muscle tension levels associated with daily burn care.

Read an article that discusses the underlying neural mechanisms of pain across the lifespan, and how various aspects of music-based intervention may assist in pain management.

This article presents a study exploring the use of music therapy interventions for pain management in adults. Findings show that recreative and music-assisted relaxation and imagery interventions were significantly more likely to reduce pain intensity than receptive only interventions and also suggest that male patients, medicaid beneficiaries, and patients with sickle cell disease were less likely to report pain reduction.

Click here to read the referenced study.

Watch how music therapist Betsy Hartman supports children with cancer in a pediatric hospital setting.