Music therapy has been increasingly utilized in healthcare settings over recent years. The field began in 1914 with Dr. Evan Kane, who played music on a phonograph in the operating room for his patients. He believed that the music would not only serve as a diversion to the surgical procedures the patients were undergoing, but that it would also promote their recovery. He and Dr. W.P. Burdick discovered that the phonograph helped to lessen the patients' preoperative anxiety and to better tolerate analgesia.
Since the publication of Dr. Kane's and Dr. Burdick's findings, much more research on the benefits of music have been conducted for various patient populations, such as patients undergoing surgery, patients with cancer, patients with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Image from CS Mott Children's Hospital https://www.mottchildren.org/mott-support-services/cfl-music-therapy
Patients Undergoing Surgery
Music can help to reduce postoperative pain and anxiety for patients who underwent various types of surgery. Music can also help stabilize surgical patients' vital signs, such as heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Different musical frequencies have even been found to exert different effects in patients undergoing surgical dental procedures, with certain frequencies having an association with "feelings of pleasantness and peacefulness," and therefore, more successfully reducing dental anxiety.
Patients with Cancer
Music can significantly reduce anxiety and distress levels for patients undergoing radiation therapy simulation. Additionally, for patients undergoing other cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, music has also been found to improve fatigue, depression, stress levels, and quality of life.
Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Disorders
Music therapy and interventions demonstrate various advantages for this patient population, including enhanced memory, less neuropsychiatric symptoms, reduced behavioral issues, and increased language and cognitive function. Significant decreases in depression and anxiety have also been found, as well as improvements in quality of life.
Patients with ASD
Music has been discovered to help patients with ASD by aiding with communication. As a population that has difficulty in effective communication via speaking with others, patients with ASD can be benefitted by music's ability to facilitate nonverbal gestures, such as bodily responses or emotional expressions.
Other Benefits of Music
In addition to enhancing physical and psychological symptoms of patients, music can help to promote healing by facilitating relaxation and by creating a calm, soothing, positive atmosphere. Music provides advantages at any stage of treatment: whether patients are preparing for a procedure, undergoing treatment, or recovering from illness.
Image from Sutter Health -- California Pacific Medical Center
If you would like to read more about music therapy research, please visit the following link to an undergraduate thesis:
References:
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