The effect of music on pain sensitivity in healthy adults

ABSTRACT

Background

Previous work suggests mediating effects of music on acute pain processing. This quasi-experimental pilot study examined the effects of music on experimental pain sensitivity.

Methods

Healthy adults (N = 40) completed quantitative sensory tests during three music conditions (silence, listening, and singing). Repeated Measures ANOVA , Friedman’s Test, and post hoc comparisons determined differences in pain intensity and time to cold pain threshold and tolerance between conditions.. Pearson partial correlations evaluated the association of musical factorswith pain sensitivity.

Results

Participants demonstrated longer time intervals until perceiving pain and tolerated pain for longer durations when singing compared to listening. Greater self-reported singing proficiency was associated with higher tolerance. Several musical factors were significantly correlated with time from pain threshold to reaching tolerance.

Conclusion

Singing during an acute painful stimulus may increase tolerance. Various musical characteristics impact volunteers’ central pain responses and singing may be an important adjunct pain management strategy.

KEYWORDS:

• Music intervention
• singing
• pain management
• quantitative sensory testing
• experimental pain

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence and the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida for making this research possible.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose, including financial and biomedical interests or relationships and affiliations other than those on the title page of the manuscript. They had full access to the data and are responsible for its integrity and accuracy of the analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Florida Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence and NIA/NIH under grant number [T32AG049673].