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[1] A lot of music has been created to help people cope with psychological pain. Now, doctors say that music can also help ease physical discomfort from medical procedures, such as injections. Doctors at University Hospital Zürich (USZ) have found that patients felt better after a needle prick when listening to their favourite tunes. Those who had pre-existing pain said that a few minutes of Mozart helped. “From the four conditions we examined, only favourite music and Mozart showed a positive effect,” said Meritxell Garcia Alzamora of UHZ.
[2] The researchers divided more than 200 patients into four groups. One group listened to their favourite music, and another listened to Mozart’s “Sonata K. 448”. The piece has been described as therapeutic or even a help against epilepsy. The third group listened to relaxation music and the final one didn’t have any music. “Although a needle puncture is a minor procedure, the level of pain can vary significantly from person to person,” said Andrei Cristinel Dragnea, another USZ doctor.
[3] A fear of injections is called trypanophobia. It can sometimes deter people from getting necessary jabs. It could even lead to unnecessary pain from tensing up or flinching as the needle approaches the vein. Alzamora explained that listening to their favourite music reduced pain for patients, whether they were already in pain before the injection or not.
[4] “Patients who listened to relaxation music or no music didn’t experience any change in their pain,” the university said in a press release launching the research. It was published in the medical journal Frontiers in Pain Research.
[5] Alzamora explained that relaxation music typically has a slow tempo, low volume and little variation in sound. These qualities might have caused patients to tune out the music. This could explain why it failed to relieve their pain.
[6] “I would recommend listening to music to patients, especially patients who like music in general,” Alzamora said.
Source: dpa, October 9
