Listening before, during and after surgery could ease the pain

November 24, 2015  22:42

Listening to music before, during and after surgery eases pain and anxiety, experts found.

Patients who listened to their favourite tunes also had lower blood pressure and heart rate than those who didn't, according to a study.

The benefits of music were greater when patients get to pick their own playlists, researchers said.

Dr Diana Vetter, at the University of Zurich, said: 'As many patients have smartphones with personal music playlists, informing our patients before scheduled surgeries of the positive effect of music on their wellbeing could be a low cost intervention that may enhance wellbeing and possibly faster recovery.'

To assess the impact of music on surgical outcomes, Dr Vetter and her colleagues analysed data from 47 studies, including 26 that looked at the effect of music before procedures, 25 looking at music in the operating room and 25 looking at music during recovery.

Overall, music was linked to about 31 per cent less pain, 29 per cent lower odds of using pain medication, and 34 per cent less anxiety.

In addition, music was tied to 40 per cent lower blood pressure and 27 per cent lower heart rate.

When patients choose their own tunes, the benefits sometimes increased, the researchers report in the Annals of Surgery.

For example, self-selected music was linked to 35 per cent lower pain levels than no music, while music chosen by study personnel was linked to a 26 reduction in pain levels.

Self-selected music was also linked to 47 per cent lower anxiety levels, compared to a scant six per cent reduction with music chosen by study personnel.

There wasn't much difference in heart rate or blood pressure based on whether patients chose their own music or listened to music selected by study personnel.

One shortcoming of the analysis is that it might give rather conservative effect estimates because the early studies generally tended to overestimate effects or were only published with spectacular findings, the authors acknowledge.

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