An Experimental Study to assess the Eff ectiveness of Music Therapy on the Post Operative Pain Perception of Patients Following Cardiac Surgery in a Selected Hospital of New Delhi

Music therapy is defined as the use of music in the accomplishment of therapeutic aims: the restoration, maintenance, and improvement of mental and physical health. Music therapy decreases the perception of pain by temporarily occupying the “gates of pain” located on the spinal cord. Another hypothesis is that musical therapy works by decreasing sympathetic nervous system output and dampening the overall arousability of the central nervous system. The relaxation response created leads to improved breathing, lowered blood pressure and heart rate, reduced muscle tension, increased attention span, improved memory, mental acuity and social interaction, and increased orientation to reality. Musical therapy has a number of applications for heart patients.

The objectives of the study were to determine the level of pain perception among the patients admitted in the CTVS department as measured by a numerical rating scale before and att er the introduction of music therapy, to compare the physiological parameters, namely blood pressure and pulse rate before and atter the introduction of music therapy, to assess the opinion of patients regarding the utility of music therapy, using an opinionnaire and to assess the attitude of staff nurses and doctors regarding the music therapy as a pain management strategy, using an att itude scale.

This experimental study following pretest posttest design was undertaken at the CTVS Unit of Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi. 64 subjects were randomly allocated to either experimental or control group using computer generated table of random numbers.

The music therapy was found to have signifi cant effect on postoperative pain, BP and pulse. The postop scores of pain, BP and pulse were significantly less in the patients who underwent music therapy. All of the subjects felt relaxed and found music as an effective measure in reducing their pain level. Only 20% of doctors and nurses had highly favourable attitude towards music therapy as a pain management strategy.