Music in the Control of Human Pain

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Abstract
Pain is one of the most prevalent and costly national health problems in today's society (Bonica, 1985). In addition to economic loss, pain yields human suffering and personal loss in ways impossible to quantify meaningfully. Pain research has grown rapidly in recent years and has incorporated developments from such diverse disciplines as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, as well as the more obviously related fields of physiology and clinical medicine. While this expanded inquiry has greatly refined our understanding and treatment of pain, there nevertheless remain many unanswered questions about this complex human phenomenon. The use of music as one cognitive strategy technique to reduce pain perception has received some attention in the medical field; however, many of the accounts of the beneficial influences of music on the alleviation of pain are either anecdotal in nature or lack adequate controls in experimental or clinical studies to elicit much confidence in the results. This is problematic because it is not clear as to which dimensions of pain—psychological or physical—active listening to music may affect, nor does it provide clear evidence that such effects are consistent or reliable. Only through the controlled use of music in an experimental design can the validity of the effectiveness of music as a pain management technique be determined. This article aims to provide a broad spectrum of current knowledge of human pain and its control by music with the intent to suggest proper theoretical background and possible applications of music in pain therapy.

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