The effect of music on the reduction of pain: A review of the literature

Abstract

Pain is a subjective phenomenon, a sign of mental or physical suffering, and recent findings suggest that emotional states of mind highly influence the possibility of developing or perpetuating physical symptoms (Pennebaker & Skeleton, 1978; VonBrauchitsch, 197.5). The perception of pain has emerged as a psychological and physiological dilemma. While investigating research, this writer recognized that one’s perception of pain and one’s pain threshold are influenced by early childhood experiences and attitudes on pain. “Pain is not a fixed response to a hurtful stimulus; its perception is modified by our past experiences, our expectations, and more subtly by our culture” (Melzack, 1961, p. 42). This is certainly evidenced in chronic pain patients who are often reinforced for certain responses even though the stimuli no longer exist. Their reaction and experience of painful states of mind become interrelated with their conditioning. Thus, pain appears to be highly affected by emotional, sensory, and motivational properties. Research shows that mood has a direct effect on pain perception (Jacobson, 1957). Likewise, numerous studies and personal experiences indicate that music affects emotions. However, the purpose of this paper is to detail research done on the effect of music (live or taped) on the reduction of pain. The healing potential of music has intrigued clinicians since the turn of the century, and music therapists since the fifties. The secondary purpose of this paper is to present relevant implications of this issue to the field of music therapy, and to raise questions for future research in the area. There are several inherent problems in measuring and researching pain. The main difliculties lie in deciding the type of pain (emotional, motivational, or sensory) and the validity of verbal reporting as a measurement tool in experimental studies. In reviewing the experimental literature of the last twenty years, one can see that a large part of the research has focused on the reduction of pain through the use of auditory stimulation during dental operations. One of the reasons for this focus is that the dental situation typically produces slow-rising pain (Melzack, Weisz & Sprague, 1963). This is more easily controlled than fast-rising pain and more likely to be affected by the auditory stimulation and music. In addition, the majority of the studies utilize auditory stimulation as opposed to music, or auditory stimulation with music. This could be due to the need for objectivity and the insurmountable variable of individual tastes in music. The use of auditory stimulation narrows the responses that might be due to cultural, educational, or individual differences. The existing literature shows that auditory stimuli combined with music can suppress pain produced by dental drilling and extraction. Gardner, Licklider, and Weisz (1960) tested 5000 dental patients and reported that in 63% of these patients massive auditory stimulation (white noise) reduced pain perception. They utilized auditory stimulation (white noise) and music as a