A new study published in the Vienna Medical Journal suggests that music therapy hastens the recuperation of chronic back pain patients.
The study involved 65 patients who have suffered chronic pain for years and have undergone surgeries that have failed to correct the pain. These 65 patients were divided into two groups. The first one received conventional therapy involving physical therapy and medication. The second group received the same conventional therapy as the first group, however, they are placed under 25 minutes of music therapy in addition to the conventional measures they receive.
At the end of the experimental period, the researchers found out that those who underwent 25 minutes of music therapy each day on top of the conventional therapy showed better improvement compared to the other group.
The study reports that showed the difference on the recuperation performance is linked to the interaction between sound waves in the music used in the therapy and its complex interaction with the human brain. Such that, a feel good melody or a person's feel good music has beneficial effects on a person's autonomic system. This beneficial effect gives the patients better heart rates, blood pressure and breathing among a long list of subconscious functions.
Better heart rate, better blood pressure and improved breathing allow a person better benefit from conventional physical therapy. Some experts even say that the same principle applies to one who works out - one who is in a feel good mood during a workout performs better and thus he or she reaps the benefit of the workout better. In the case of physical therapy in chronic back pain patients, getting a patient in his best mood will enhance physical performance.
Medication is also absorbed better by the blood stream and brought to places inside the body where it is most needed when a person's heart rate and blood pressure are at a normal rate or are nearest normal rates.
Aside from this new study, an earlier study by researchers at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City suggests that playing one's favorite song significantly helps a person when he or she is experiencing an episode of physical pain.