Tune Out: How Music Can Help You Manage Your Pain

by Katarina Zulak

It is a truth universally acknowledged that we may not all like the same music, but we all like music. Our favourite artists help us celebrate the good times, express our emotions in the difficult times, and while away the time in between.

I've seen many headlines, written by authors with chronic illnesses, acknowledging the role that music has played in helping them get through flare-ups, and other health problems. I'm not going to lie though, around the time that I was diagnosed, I mostly stopped listening to music on my own. You know how a song can carry you back to a moment in your past, like a soundtrack to your memories? Well, I didn't want to be transported back to a time when I was healthy and free, by listening now to the music I played then. I also didn't feel like finding new music. I'm not sure why, except that I didn't feel that certain joie de vivre it takes to explore new things in life.

Then, I came across a study that made me rethink this choice: Listening To Music Can Reduce Chronic Pain And Depression By Up To A Quarter.1 Researchers found that when people with chronic pain listen to music for an hour a day, they experienced up to a 21% reduction in pain and a 25% reduction in depression. Another important finding was that listening to music made participants feel less disabled by their condition and more in control of their pain. It did not appear to matter whether individuals listened to their favourite music or relaxing music selected by the researchers.

I decided to do some further research to find out whether these findings applied to fibromyalgia. It seems that I wasn't alone in asking that question. Several studies have investigated the impact of music on fibromyalgia.

A recent study looked at whether listening to a relaxing water and wave sound CD could reduce pain in individuals with fibromyalgia. There was a significant reduction in pain levels among participants who listened to the CD over a two week period, compared to a control group who did not listen to music at all. The study concluded by recommending music therapy for pain management in patients with fibromyalgia.2 That's an exciting finding, but since I don't have access to the exact CD used in the study, how can I take advantage of these findings? I decided to delve a little bit deeper.

A second study investigated whether listening to your favourite music can reduce your pain levels if you live with fibromyalgia. One caveat of this study is that the self-chosen music was relaxing and pleasant. The study found that pain did indeed decrease after listening to music, becoming less intense and less unpleasant.3 In addition, participants who listened to music also experienced improvements in their functional mobility, measured by the ease of getting out of a chair and walking. This effect lasted even after the music stopped. Patients in the control group, who listened to "pink noise" (the sound of static) did not experience pain reduction.

But pain isn't the only unwelcome fibromyalgia symptom. What about sleep? Listening to music designed specifically to improve sleep was found to be effective in a small study of patients with fibromyalgia. After four weeks of listening to the music at bedtime, individuals reported significant improvements in sleep quality.4 The sleep music was embedded with delta sound waves, which pulsate within specific frequencies of brain wave activity that are associated with deep sleep (0.25-4 hz). Delta brain waves, which are the slowest type of brain wave, are associated with deep sleep. Listening to delta sound waves is thought to stimulate the production of delta waves in your brain. While this may sound

like high tech science, unavailable to the average patient, finding this music is as simple as searching for "sleep music delta waves" in YouTube. Personally I have found this really valuable for falling asleep, getting back to sleep and resting during the day.

The nerd in me wanted to know why music seems to have this pain relieving effect.5 One possibility is that music is an effective distraction from pain (research has found that distraction activities, like memory tests, can help reduce pain). Listening to music is associated with the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is known to have a role in the body's natural pain relieving mechanisms. Music also produces relaxation, which in turn can help reduce pain levels.

Researchers of this last study believe it is important to listen to music you know and enjoy, because familiarity is helpful for sustaining attention. When we pay attention, where more likely to experience the benefits of listening to music. In another case of science proving the obvious, studies have shown that music has a powerful effect on emotions and mood, and that emotions and mood can affect pain. If you enjoy the music you are listening to, it may be more likely to improve your pain levels.

Needless to say, I've decided to put my headphones back on.