Music boosts recovery from surgery, reduces pain

[IceWizard]

Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:10pm EDT
By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) -
Listening to music before, during and after surgery reduces patients' pain, eases anxiety and lessens the need for painkillers, British scientists said on Thursday.

After reviewing evidence from around 7,000
patients, the scientists said people going for
surgery should be allowed to choose the music
they'd like to hear to maximize the benefit.

But they also warned that the music should not
interfere with the medical team's communication during an operation.

"Music is a non-invasive, safe, cheap intervention that should be available to everyone undergoing surgery," said Catherine Meads from Brunel University, who co-led the research.

The team conducted a meta-analysis of all
published randomized trials looking at how
music compares with standard care or other
non-drug interventions such as massage and
relaxation in effecting recovery of adults after
operations.

The results, published in The Lancet journal,
found patients were significantly less anxious
after surgery and reported more satisfaction
after listening to music. They also needed less
pain medication and reported less pain
compared with controls.

While the study found listening to music at any
time seemed effective, there was a trend for
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.

"We have known since the time of Florence
Nightingale that listening to music has a positive impact on patients during surgery, by making them feel calmer and reducing pain," said Martin Hirsch of Queen Mary University of London, who co-led the work. "However, it's taken pulling together all the small studies ... into one robust meta-analysis to really prove it works."

Paul Glasziou of Australia's Bond University said the results held a clear message: "Music is a simple and cheap intervention," he wrote in a comment in The Lancet. "A drug with similar effects might generate substantial marketing."

The team now plans to follow up with a pilot
scheme introducing music at The Royal London Hospital for women having Caesarean sections and women having hysteroscopy.
Patients will submit their playlist on a device of
their choice to be connected to a pillow with
inbuilt loudspeakers, and the researchers will
then analyze the effectiveness of rolling this out in practice.


(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Raissa
Kasolowsky)