TUESDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to music therapy
can dramatically improve the mental and physical condition of
patients receiving palliative care, a new study suggests.
The research team says that this is the first large study to
gauge -- and substantiate -- the potential of music therapy as a
physical and psychological aid to patients coping with advanced
illness.
"We've known for a while that music therapy can be used for a wide variety of things in a medical setting," said study author Lisa M. Gallagher, a music therapist with the Cleveland Music School Settlement and The Cleveland Clinic's Horvitz Center for Palliative Medicine. "But this particular study clearly shows that it helps improve mood while decreasing pain, anxiety, depression and even shortness of breath among seriously ill patients."
Gallagher was expected to present her findings Tuesday at the
American Academy of Pain Management Meeting being held this week in
Nashville, Tenn.
To assess the potential for music therapy among patients with a
range of chronic and/or advanced illnesses, the authors, between
2000 and 2002, focused on 200 patients battling several types of
cancer, noncancerous tumors, pain disorders, sickle cell disease,
aortic aneurysm, Gardner's syndrome, AIDS, neurodegenerative
conditions, and other so-called "life-limiting" diagnoses.
Patients were between the ages of 24 and 87, with an average age
of just over 60. About 60 percent of the patients were women, and
the research team noted that almost 30 percent had some sort of
musical background.
Music therapy first involved the patient choosing the style of
music her or she wanted to hear, after which Gallagher herself (or
a music therapy intern under her guidance) played appropriate
selections on keyboards. The therapy averaged approximately 25
minutes, during which patient family members were also present
about a third of the time.
Physical and psychological tests were conducted both before
music therapy and after an initial therapy session. The results
indicated that in addition to marked benefits in patient anxiety,
mood, pain and shortness of breath, more than 80 percent of the
patients said their mood had improved following music therapy.
Movement, facial expression and verbal skills were also found to
have significantly improved as well. Having had a prior musical
background seemed to play no role, and, for the most part, women
and men derived similar benefits from the experience.
Even family members appeared to benefit, experiencing an
improvement in terms of mood, although not in terms of anxiety
levels.
The research team concluded that the findings prove that music
is a "universal language" that can have a positive impact on all
patients and even their caregivers.
Gallagher said she was pleased to see that the hard data she
compiled appears to verify her prior observations.
"Being a music therapist, I've always believed in the power of the music," she said. "But it was great to have it backed up and proven by the research."
For her part, Katherine Puckett, national director of mind-body
medicine at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern
Regional Medical Center in Zion, Ill., expressed little surprise at
the findings.
"I've seen music be very comforting, relaxing, healing, calming and helpful with patient pain," she said. "It may be hard to put into words, because it's often a visceral reaction that people feel. But music can transport people, because they can really relate to it. So, it can distract from pain. It can even help regulate breathing, as a patient's breath comes in line with the music or tempo of the music. And if that music is tranquil and soothing, it can help quiet them down if they're anxious. So, I have to say that these findings are completely in line with my experience."
More information
For more on music therapy, visit the
American Music
Therapy Association.
