British researchers have found that patients who listened to music before, during, and after their surgery had reduced pain, less anxiety, and less need for painkillers.
The study reviewed data from approximately 7,000 patients from several studies on how music compares with standard care or other non-drug interventions such as massage and relaxation in effecting recovery of adults after operations. This is referred to as a meta-analysis. The researchers said surgical patients should be allowed to choose the music they'd like to hear to get the most benefit from it. While the study found listening to music at any time seemed effective, it was seen that there were better outcomes if patients listened to music before surgery rather than during or after. And when patients selected their own music, there was a slightly greater reduction in pain and in use of pain relief than if others chose the music for the patients.
The results, published in The Lancet, found patients were significantly less anxious after their surgery and that they reported more satisfaction after they listened to music. They also needed less pain medication and reported less pain when compared with control groups of patients who did not listen to music.
The only warning the researchers had was to make sure that the music did not interfere with the surgical team communicating with you. In other words, maybe you should avoid the head-banging loud heavy metal music.
The researchers note that music is a simple and inexpensive intervention that can help improve the outcome of surgeries.
The research team now plans further work to if adding music can help women having caesarean sections and women undergoing hysteroscopy, which is a procedure where the inside of the uterus is viewed with a special scope. The patients will submit their playlist on a device to be connected to a pillow with built-in speakers.
