Background & Aims

Music is a promising adjunctive treatment for both acute and chronic pain, reducing the need for pharmacological analgesics and their sides effects. Yet, the differentiation between different types of music and its effects is limited. Literature indicates that self-selected and favorite music are superior in music-induced analgesia. Music genre is an important conceptual tool to define individual music preference. Prior studies have given insight into the importance of music style and its characteristics, including, for example, the suggestion that classical music might be more effective than heavy metal music. However, it is not known whether certain genres influence pain tolerance more effectively than others. Therefore, the aim of this experimental study was to investigate how five different music genres (urban, rock, classical, electronic and pop) affect the pain tolerance of healthy volunteers, and how this relates to personal music genre preferences.

Methods

This parallel designed randomized study was conducted on a three-day music festival (Lowlands, The Netherlands). Healthy volunteers aged ≥ 18 years were eligible. Blood alcohol levels >0.05%, recreational drugs, pain/psychiatric medication and acute/chronic pain were handled as exclusion criteria. The primary objective was pain tolerance time of a cold pressor test (CPT), measured in seconds. Music genre preference and personal characteristics were assessed without disclosing the randomized genre. The music genre selection was based on previous quantitative studies on overarching genre clusters that structure music preferences. Participants were randomized in one of the five main genres (urban, rock, classical, electronic and pop), to which they listened 4 minutes before conducting the CPT with a maximum tolerance limit of 180 seconds. The water temperature was set at 2°C (range 0-4 °C). Consequently, the pain intensity and pain unpleasantness were rated on a Numerous Rating Scale.

Results

In total, 548 participants participated in the experiment. Mean age was 30.6 ± 9.1 years, and 57.5% was female. There were no baseline differences between the five groups. Mean pain tolerance was 115.5 ± 66.8 seconds, mean pain intensity was 6.2 ± 1.7 and mean pain unpleasantness was 6.4 ± 2.0. Comparing the five genres, no objective (pain tolerance) and/or subjective (pain intensity and unpleasantness) differences were found. Multinomial logistic regression showed that a higher rating of the overall genre preference (OGP) positively influenced the pain tolerance, whereas music genres that participants thought would help against pain (GAP) did not. Although OGP and GAP had a positive correlation, classical music had a higher GAP rating and was more frequently chosen at a subgenre level against pain. The subjective pain ratings revealed no difference in regard to music preference. However, the interaction between researchers’ and participants’ gender did affect those subjective ratings.

Conclusions

Our study was the first to investigate pain tolerance on genre level and in the context of genre preference. In conclusion, our data suggest that listening to a favorite music genre has a significant positive influence on pain tolerance, irrespective of what kind of genre this is. We did not find differences among the type of genre (Urban, Rock, Classical, Electronic, Pop). Interestingly, the rating of the genre against pain did not affect our results. The reason people selected classical music more often against pain could be in line with the cultural belief that classical music is superior in reducing pain. However, in this study, classical music was not more effective for pain relief than the other genres. Our results demonstrate that music preference itself is important for the analgetic benefits of music, independently of control over music selection and the music genre itself.

References

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Presenting Author

Antonia Becker

Poster Authors

Antonia Becker

Dr. med.

Erasmus MC

Lead Author

E-mail

Emy van der Valk Bouman

MD

Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Julian Schaap

PhD

Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Michaël Berghman

PhD

Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Joost Oude Groeninger

PhD

Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Merle van Groeningen

Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Femke Vandenberg

PhD

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Roos Geensen

MD

Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Johannes Jeekel

MD

Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Markus Klimek

MD

Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Lead Author

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Topics

  • Treatment/Management: Complementary and Alternative therapies