Summary: A innovative research suggests that listening to music after surgery can substantially reduce pain, stress, and even heart rate, aiding treatment. According to an analysis of 35 studies, those who listened to music reported lower pain levels and less morphine use on the first day after surgery than those who did n’t.
Music was likewise associated with a 3 % decrease in stress and a slower heart rate, which were both essential for enhancing treatment outcomes. According to researchers, music’s soothing effects might be a straightforward and affordable way to improve clinical recovery.
Important Information:
- Music reduced post-surgery pain by 19 % and decreased opioid use.
- People who listened to music reported a 3 % decrease in stress levels.
- Music listeners had a lower center level, improving circulation and treatment.
Origin: American College of Surgeons
Looking for a creative way to speed up your treatment from surgery? The critical may be found in listening to music, according to research presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024 in San Fransisco, California.
Researchers , at California Northstate University College of Medicine in Elk Grove, California , analyzed existing research on music and its role in helping individuals recover from surgery, narrowing a list of 3, 736 reports to 35 research papers.
In all of the reports, data on individual effects, including pain and anxiety, as well as brain rate and opioid use were included. According to their examination, the researchers found that the straightforward act of listening to music after operation, whether through headphones or a speech, had obvious effects on patients during their treatment time:
- Lower pain rates: According to the article, people who listened to audio experienced a statistically significant decrease in anguish the day after surgery. Pain was measured using two validated measures that asked patients to self-report their pain levels: the Numeric Rating Scale (around 19 % reduction ) and the Visual Analogue Scale (around 7 % reduction ).  ,
- Reduced stress rates:  , Across all the analyzed research, patient self-reported stress levels were reduced by about 2.5 items, or 3 %, as assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a patient-answered study that assesses stress on a range of 80.  ,
- Less narcotic use: Patients who listened to audio used less than half as much morphine as those who did not on the first day of surgery ( an average of 0.758 grams versus 1.654 mg for those who did not listen to music ).  ,
- Lower heart level: According to the authors, those who listened to music had a lower heart rate ( roughly 4.5 fewer beats per minute ) than those who did no. This is important because keeping a patient’s brain price within a healthy variety promotes efficient flow of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, especially in areas that were operated on. In addition, tachycardia, or a heart rate greater than 100, can lead to abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, which can be life-threatening.  ,
” When patients wake up after surgery, sometimes they feel really scared and do n’t know where they are”, said , Eldo Frezza, MD, MBA, FACS, senior author of the study and a professor of surgery at California Northstate University College of Medicine.
” Music may assist in easing the transition from the awakening stage to a return to normalcy, and it may also help reduce stress associated with that transition.”
According to Dr. Frezza and co-authors, listening to music is a more passive experience than some more active therapies like meditation or Pilates, which require a lot of concentration or movement, and can be incorporated by patients without much expense or effort almost immediately after surgery.
The studies found that patients perceive they are in less pain, and we believe that is just as significant, according to Shehzaib Raees, the first author of the study and a third-year medical student at the California Northstate University College of Medicine.
” When listening to music, you can disassociate and relax. In that way, there’s not much you have to do or focus on, and you can calm yourself down”.
According to the study’s authors, a decrease in cortisol levels while listening to music may assist in easing patients ‘ recovery from surgery. Some variables, such as how long the patients listened to music, could not be controlled for in the analysis. Future research will examine a pilot program to examine the application of music in both the operating room and the intensive care unit.  ,
Dr. Frezza’s advice? If you feel up for it after surgery, listen to whatever music you enjoy.  ,
” We’re not trying to say that one type of music is better than another”, he said. We believe that music can help people in various ways after surgery because it can comfort you and make you feel at ease there.
Study co-authors are  , Hannah Chang, BS, Kimberly Ku, BS, Niloufar S. Tehrani, MTM, Julia C. Howard, BS, and Muzammil Akhtar, BS.
The authors report no disclosures.
About this music, pain, and anxiety research news
Author: Sheila Lai
Source: American College of Surgeons
Contact: Sheila Lai – American College of Surgeons
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
The ACS Clinical Congress 2024 will host the original research findings.
