Good Vibrations Brings You:

                        Can Music Really Help Alleviate Pain

 

 

 

           There has been a lot of talk lately about music helping to alleviate pain.  Some doctors have started recommending that patients listen to music to help with post-surgery pain.  More studies are coming out suggesting music can lower the amount of medication needed to help patients with pain.  But can this be true?  What is actually causing us to feel less pain when we listen to music?

          

           One theory on why we feel less pain is called “Gate Control Function of Pain Perception”.  According to this theory, what we perceive as pain, is actually a series of signals that originate in the peripheral nervous system and run up to the brain in pathways.  These signals can be blocked or “gated” by other signals or stimuli that run in parallel, but more dominant pathways.  Stimuli from music (as well as acupuncture, massage, electrical stimulation, drugs, hypnosis)  also tends to run in these dominant pathways . These two separate pathways may look like...

 

 

PAIN PATHWAY

 

 

 

              MUSIC PATHWAY

 

Notice the darker , wider line on the music pathway, suggesting a more dominant pathway. 

 

 

Now here is a look at the two pathways running together, parallel:

 

                                                 

                                                                     PAIN PATHWAY / MUSIC PATHWAY

 

 

 

           From this view, we can see how the dominant pathway (music) has “gated” or partially blocked the weaker pathway (pain).  While we can still see the pain pathway line, it is not as noticeable or intense.  We perceive our pain to be less intense because it has been gated by the music.

 

           While the gate control function of pain perception is just a theory, we do know that people are effectively minimizing pain by listening to music.  If you suffer from chronic pain, try listening to some music you enjoy and see how it works for you.  You can also try this at PCI—just see Greg about setting up an PCI i-pod for you.

 

                                                                  ~Greg