The analgesic effect of music on cold pressor pain responses: The influence of anxiety and attitude toward pain

Abstract

ObjectiveThe analgesic effect of music has been recognized for pain relief, but individual differences and adjuvant methods are poorly understood. This study employed a cold-pressor task (CPT) to observe the effects of music (without considering personal preferences) on pain experience and how this is affected by individuals’ general (and pain-specific) anxiety symptomology.MethodsFifty participants were each presented with three conditions (randomized into different orders): music-listening, news-listening, and no sound (control). Pain responses, including pain tolerance time (PT), pain intensity (PI), and pain unpleasantness (PU), were assessed using CPT and compared with a 3x3 crossover design. Participants also completed the anxiety sensitivity index (ASI-16) and pain anxiety symptom scale (PASS-20).ResultsCPT pain responses during the music intervention were significantly different from responses during the news intervention and control conditions, respectively. Among participants with normal anxiety levels, pain responses during the music condition differed significantly from the news and control groups; this was not the case for the anxiety risk group. Pain responses during the music condition for those with normal levels of pain-specific anxiety differed significantly from the control, but this was not the case for the risk group.ConclusionsMusic appears to influence diminished pain responses relative to the absence of an intervention. However, this was not the case when individuals listened to news stories. These effects were more robust for individuals experiencing normal levels of general and pain-specific anxiety. Thus, music (even outside one’s own preferences) was an effective adjuvant method for managing pain, especially among those without significant anxiety symptomology.

Computer games as distraction from PAIN: Effects of hardware and difficulty on pain tolerance and subjective IMMERSION

“…In addition, exposure to music during painful experience has been found to reduce subjective pain (MacDonald, Kreutz, & Mitchell, L., 2012) and there is neurophysiological evidence for modulation of the pain response when the experience is paired with music (Dobek, Beynon, Bosma, & Stroman, 2014). Music and noise both distract the experience of pain (Boyle, El-Deredy, Montes, Bentley, & Jones, 2008;Finlay, 2014) and increase pain tolerance during the cold pressor test (Choi, Park, & Lee, 2018). There is also evidence that characteristics of the musical piece can influence observed effects of pain; for example, Kenntner-Mabiala, Gorges, Alpers, Lehmann, & Pauli (2007) reported that fast tempo music increased autonomic activation and enhanced subjective ratings of pain, but this effect was only observed in female participants.…”

Music-induced analgesia: An adjunct to pain management

“…We identified 540 titles and abstracts, of which we assessed 16 full-text articles for inclusion. We excluded five studies for lacking enough data, and finally included 11 studies (Basinski, Zdun-Ryzewska, & Majkowicz, 2018; Choi, Park, & Lee, 2018; Dobek, Beynon, Bosma, & Stroman, 2014; Garcia & Hand, 2015; Garza-Villarreal, Brattico, Vase, Østergaard, & Vuust, 2012; Hekmat & Hertel, 1993; Mitchell & MacDonald, 2006; Mitchell, MacDonald, & Brodie, 2006; Roy, Lebuis, Hugueville, Peretz, & Rainville, 2012; Roy, Peretz, & Rainville, 2008; Ruscheweyh, Kreusch, Albers, Sommer, & Marziniak, 2011) in the meta-analysis. Characteristics of the included studies are summarized in Table 1.…”

Tune out pain: Agency and active engagement predict decreases in pain intensity after music listening

“…Here we predict that increased perceived control predicts decreases in pain intensity and pain unpleasantness (H1). Although the benefits of music engagement have been well demonstrated for chronic pain [ 9 , 16 , 34 ], and experimental pain [ 2 , 5 , 35 ], it is not yet known the degree to which the analgesic benefits of music engagement translates to acute pain in everyday settings. Additionally, this study will explore the role of music engagement by manipulating musical complexity via an altered piece of bespoke music specifically composed for this study, to maximise engagement.…”