But we also all know the power of MUSIC (sounds) to effect us ... a great example is the power of music on troops (just to keep this post in sync with MLU focus) to boost morale ... and energy to FIDO ... and yes, the key would be the emotional response which releases chemicals in the brain and body to change inner experience ... MUSIC is the best mood alterer I know!
Quote:
Emotional response to music can reduce pain: study Jan. 13, 2005
Provided by: Canadian Press
Written by: ROSS MAROWITS
MONTREAL (CP) - Even the head-bobbing beat of a hip-hop track can offer pain relief to the genre's fans, suggests a study on the analgesic properties of music.
Music has long been known to calm and relax. But a University of Montreal study suggests it doesn't merely provide a distraction from pain. It induces an emotional reaction among listeners that can diminish their pain by up to 15 per cent, the study found.
The impact reflects an individual's musical tastes. Jazz fans may be best soothed by the trumpet sounds of legend Miles Davis while classical aficionados may find comfort in an orchestral masterpiece.
"Our analyses showed that music the subjects liked had a significant effect on reducing their pain," said Mathieu Roy, 24, a doctoral student in neuropsychology.
Roy exposed 80 university students to pain by attaching hot electrodes to their forearms. Various levels of discomfort were applied while subjects listened to six pre-selected instrumental musical pieces.
The students said the pain diminished most in songs they liked and least when songs with harsh sounds were played or no music was played at all.
"We think that by having a better understanding of the way by which music influences pain, it might help to be integrated into the clinical setting," said Roy, who next wants to study the impact of music on brain activity.
Music therapy is just one of many efforts being undertaken to study non-pharmaceutical ways to help provide relief to the millions of Canadians who suffer chronic and acute pain.
"Pain is a silent epidemic," said Celeste Johnston, past president of the Canadian Pain Society and associate director for research at the McGill School of Nursing.
Canadians spent more than $2 billion last year on over-the-counter, herbal and prescription pain relief medication, say industry experts.
About 17 per cent of Canadians suffer chronic pain from such ailments as osteoarthritis, lower pack pain, fibromyalgia, migraines and menstruation. Up to half of hospital patients are exposed to moderate to severe discomfort.
Recent reports about the side-effects of COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx and Celebrex and the addictive potential of OxyContin have spurred a public interest in alternatives, she said.
"People are starting to realize that they can't take a pill that's going to fix everything."
Researchers are also studying alternatives that were once considered taboo by the medical community, said Dr. Marc Ware of the McGill University Pain Centre.
"There is unlikely to be a magic bullet," he said in an interview. "The approach for chronic pain is likely to be multidisciplinary and indeed integrative."
In addition to drug therapy, alternatives include psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage and yoga.
A study of 170 patients at the Montreal pain centre points to the alternatives people are seeking. About 35 per cent use nutritional supplements including vitamins, 11 per cent turn to massage, 7.2 per cent to meditation, 6.5 per cent to glucosamine and five per cent to cannabis.
While acupuncture was once considered experimental, recent studies confirm its usefulness for arthritis and migraines.
Ware said physicians need to ensure natural remedies don't interfere with prescribed drugs. But they also need to further study alternatives to ensure nothing is overlooked in the quest to help patients.
"With an aging population and with the demographics of our society, chronic pain is only going to continue to become a problem or to become a bigger problem, so we need to recognize it and tackle it," he said.
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MOOD ... also has an amazing capacity to effect capacity for pain ... which we all know too
I like to crank up some upbeat sounds/music when I do housework and I find I can actually get much done while listening ... pain is not SO painful.... it works for a while anyways! I think hospitals should have headsets and players for patients, even comatose, to listen to their favorite "music". I recall holding "Margaret's" hand, while she was comatose, talking and siinging to her while she passed and her spirit left her body ... I like to think that my presence and sounds made a difference to her (she passed away from extremely advanced lung cancer) I'll NEVER forget Margaret or that experience ... and now while my sister is going through the same process ... well ... my sister loves country music ... and meds just ain't good enough at this stage for her ... perhaps a llittle music can help ....
Herr Pear ... and others with chronic pain in here ... i hope you all spend time listening to music and note the difference in headspace? let me know your feelings on this
Speaking of music ... the doorbell chimes, more like church bells, just knocked me out of my seat a minute ago ... we all know the power of music to disturb as well LMAO
Note to Master Sunray: Please do NOT forget to buy MORE "DEPENDS" on the way home...
Karmen