Listening to Music Alleviates Chronic Pain and Depression

Filed in archive Studies , Treatment on June 6, 2006

Have you ever listened to music and felt better afterwards? Some people may have claimed that music is relaxing. Music having many benefits but the most popular we've heard is that it soothes a tired body and soul.

Then again some may disagree. But according to a paper published in the latest edition of the UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing, listening to music reduce chronic pain by up to 21% and depression by up to 25%.

In a control clinical trial of sixty people (divided into two music groups and a control group) suffering a range of painful conditions (including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis), listening to music make people feel more in control of their pain and less disabled by their condition.

"Our results show that listening to music had a statistically significant effect on the two experimental groups, reducing pain, depression and disability and increasing feelings of power" says Dr Siedlecki.

"There were some small differences between the two music groups, but they both showed consistent improvements in each category when compared to the control group.
"Non-malignant pain remains a major health problem and sufferers continue to report high levels of unrelieved pain despite using medication. So anything that can provide relief is to be welcomed."

"Listening to music has already been shown to promote a number of positive benefits and this research adds to the growing body of evidence that it has an important role to play in modern healthcare" adds co-author Professor Marion Good.

Read more at Science Daily.