New study finds music eases pain and anxiety of surgery

June 2, 2018

Make sure you have a playlist ready, because a new study has found that music can help you through surgery.

According to the British Journal of Surgery, music can help ease the anxiety and pain associated with invasive surgery.

The study took place between 1980 and 2016, and has examined more than 7,000 patients.The Dutch researchers who headed the project analyzed over 80 randomized, blinded, controlled studies of music being used before, during, and after invasive surgery.

While comparing the pain and anxiety levels to that of control test subjects, those listening to music had much lower outcomes. The effect on anxiety was greatest when the music was played before the operation, and the largest decreases in pain were seen when playing music afterward.

It also seemed that the effects were slightly better when the music was chosen by the patient as opposed to the office or surgeon.

The authors also write: “Besides individual music preference, specific features of the music intervention such as rhythm and harmony, and the use of specific instruments like string instruments, also seem important features in anxiety and pain reduction.”

Altogether, “they found that playing music was associated with lower anxiety and pain ratings, regardless of the type of surgery performed, the age or gender of the patient, and when the music was actually played,” offered Gizmodo. “Compared to controls, there was an average 21-point decrease in anxiety on a 1 to 100 scale, and a 10-point decrease in pain.”

“This result makes it now possible to create guidelines for the implementation of music interventions around surgical procedures,” stated Dr. Rosalie Kühlmann, lead author and pediatric surgeon at Erasmus MC-Sophia Children’s Hospital in the Netherlands.

Which songs would help you through surgery? Let us know in the comments!

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