Admittedly, I have been less than frequent with my posts in 2012. That doesn’t mean there weren’t interesting studies published; rather, I was busy with our unexpected move prompted by mother nature. I’ll try to make up for it with some recent articles focused on pre-treatment anxiety. 

When I typed “music therapy” in to PubMed, there were several studies on pre-treatment music interventions on the first page. I think the wide scope of fields interested in the management of anxiety and pain (nursing, medical, music therapy) has something to do with the number of studies on the topic. Let’s take a look at a few that caught my eye.

Chen et al. (2012) published a study targeting anxiety, fear, depression and frustration of persons undergoing radiation treatment. Participants were randomly placed in the control (n=100) or music listening (n=100) group. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was utilized as a pre and posttest measure. Persons in the music listening group had significantly lower anxiety scores, compared to the control group. The music intervention is described as 15-minutes listening to preferred music that had a tempo between 60-80 bpm and lacked large dynamic changes. One aspect that I liked was the inclusion of preferred music (participants selected tracks).

On a related topic, Lee et al. studied responses to the monochord (n=20) vs. progressive muscle relaxation (n=20) during undergoing chemotherapy. The State Anxiety Inventory showed a significant decrease in anxiety in both groups. There were also some changes observed in EEG measures. The mix of self-report and physiological measures (EEG) is interesting. However, EEG data can be difficult to interpret.

If you are looking for a lot of data on music for pain, there is a recent systematic review on this topic. Cole and Wood (2012) reviewed studies published between 2005 and 2011. A total of 17 studies met inclusion criteria. The bottom line – the combined evidence of the studies support the use of music to control pain of hospitalized adults. The studies spanned several populations including music for pregnant women, patients undergoing surgery, patients in intensive care, and medical patients. Studies reviewed had a mix of music interventions from music listening to music therapy sessions.

That’s all for this end of year post. I hope to have many more in the next year. I wish you all a peaceful, prosperous, and safe 2013.

References:

Chen, L.C., Wang, T.F., Shih, Y.N., & Wu, L.J. (2012). Fifteen-minute music intervention reduces pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients. Eur J Oncol Nurs. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2012.11.002. PMID: 23218591

Cole, L.C., & Lobiondo-Wood, G. (2012). Music as an Adjuvant Therapy in Control of Pain and Symptoms in Hospitalized Adults: A Systematic Review. Pain Manag Nurs. 2012 Oct 26. pii: S1524-9042(12)00144-0. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2012.08.010. PMID: 23107431

Lee, E.J., Bhattacharya, J., Sohn, C., & Verres, R. (2012). Monochord sounds and progressive muscle relaxation reduce anxiety and improve relaxation during chemotherapy: A pilot EEG study. Complement Ther Med., 20(6), 409-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2012.07.002. Epub 2012 Aug 23. PMID: 23131371