A new study published by scientists at the University of Zurich found that listening to music before, during and after surgery has beneficial effects on pain and anxiety levels, according to the Daily Mail. Furthermore, these effects were even more pronounced when patients picked their own playlists.
The paper used data gathered from 47 different studies - 26 looked at the effect of music prior to procedures, 25 looked at the effect of music during procedures and the remaining 25 examined its effect during the recovery period. The results linked music to 31 percent less pain, 34 percent less anxiety and 29 percent lower odds of using any kind of pain medication. Furthermore, there was also a relationship between music and a 40 percent lower blood pressure rate and a 27 percent lower heart rate.
"As many patients have smartphones with personal music playlists, informing our patients before scheduled surgeries of the positive effect of music on their wellbeing could be a low cost intervention that may enhance wellbeing and possibly faster recovery," said Diana Vetter, lead author of the study.
The study shows the beneficial effects of music and its effects on healing, according to Counsel & Heal. Although some research has explored the issue in the past, these promising results could help push music into the healing procedures of health care institutions.
"Music interventions are not yet part of the system because for an intervention to be formally adapted in medicine and hospitals, efficacy needs to be shown," said Marianne van der Heijden, a researcher at Erasmus Medical Center. "There now seems to be enough evidence to support the formal adaptation of music interventions in clinical guidelines."
