Patients have reported lower pain levels post-surgery after listening to music.
Among the many other benefits, a study has discovered that music can be a good painkiller during surgery and would ultimately help patients before undergoing potentially dangerous procedures. There has been evidence presented along the years about the beneficial and healthy effects of music.
What it hasn’t been proven on a larger scale, though, was that it provided excellent and soothing support for nervous patients before, during or after surgery. It can reduce pain, anxiety and even lower the number of painkillers required during their recovery, though greater benefits have been observed pre or post-operation.
The study conducted at Brunel University has seen 72 trials that involved almost 7,000 patients, and it has been observed that listening to the music of their choice severely influenced their pain levels and anxiety. There’s little more unnerving than knowing you are about to go under anesthesia and place yourself in the hands of others, no matter how well trained. Music has shown signs of aiding with lessening that particular batch of nerves.
Patients who indulged in music before surgery have reported lower pain levels than those who choose not to, and required less pain medication, which often hold their own risk. Lead researcher, Dr. Catherine Meads, stated that music is not routinely used during surgery due to skepticism among professionals about its benefits. However, it should be.
She has stated that patients should be allowed to pick their own music, or at least choose from a pre-made playlist of “soothing” genres, and, hopefully, played in a manner that does not interfere with the surgery team’s communication, although some doctors willingly opt for listening themselves.
However, too loud of a volume may do more harmful than good, considering it could be distracting to members of the staff or even require them to repeat requests in a situation where time is truly of the essence. A controlled ambiance could be tolerated for the good of the patient.
The simple use of cheap headphones or music pillows could be the best choices for lessening the amount of pain and anxiety, along with not interfering with the surgeon’s vitally important attention. According to Meads, it’s a “non-invasive, safe, cheap intervention” that would cost hospitals nearly nothing and would save patients from higher levels of pain.
Dr. Martin Hirsch at Queen Mary University in London has stated that the positive impacts of music during surgery have been known for a long time, but no concrete large study has been made in order to turn it into a common practice. But perhaps it would now.
In the future, patients might be allowed to pick their own music and listen before and after surgery, and even while they’re under anesthesia. After all, another good point to make, like Dr. Paul Glasziou from Bond University in Queensland has implied, if music could be stuffed into a pain-relieving pill, the drug would be selling like hotcakes.
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