(131) Impact of an Interactive Music App on Pain Threshold, Temporal Summation, and Conditioned Pain Modulation in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Music has been shown to decrease pain and modulate affect, but the mechanism by which music conveys analgesia in relatively unexplored . Using quantitative sensory testing (QST), we assessed the impact of a novel app-based music intervention on the nociceptive processing of pain. Healthy volunteers (n=60) were assessed for psychosocial traits including anxiety, depression, and catastrophizing using validated questionnaires. QST included investigation of: 1) pain sensitivity as measured by pressure pain threshold and tolerance using a handheld algometer, as well as reported pain to weighted pinprick stimuli, 2) temporal summation of pain (TSP) with a repeated pinprick stimulus, and 3) conditioned pain modulation (CPM) with pressure and cold stimuli. QST was performed in both the absence and presence of an interactive music app (Unwind), with paired t or Wilcoxon rank tests used to determine differences. Pressure pain threshold in both the forearm (p=0.007) and trapezius (p=0.002) increased with music. Initial pinprick pain severity (p