Music & Pain: Personalized Medicine & the Amplified Future 

Frank Fitzpatrick 11/27/2024

Music & Pain: Personalized Medicine & the Amplified Future 

“One good thing about music – when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – Bob Marley

One of the most common questions when discussing music as medicine is “What kind of music should I use?”

My answer usually contains some variation on, “That depends. What kind of music do you like?”

Hundreds of randomized scientific studies have validated music’s ability to reduce pain perception and increase pain tolerance. The implementation of music in hospitals and clinical settings has shown measurable benefits in treating chronic pain, including lowering the required dosage of analgesics for surgery patients. 

Misleadingly, some studies propose that one specific genre of music is more healing, or better for treating a particular condition, than other genres. Often the researchers conducting those studies have limited their testing to certain types of music based on pre-existing biases. Unfortunately, they may have inadvertently failed to account for one of the most critical aspects of music’s efficacy in treating the human body and mind – the patient’s musical preference. 

Just as important as clarifying WHAT we are treating is knowing WHO we’re treating. The music that will work best for the condition is often linked to what will work best for the individual with the condition, which usually starts with the music they like. 

The first good news is that – as Bob Marley infers in his famous quote – music can help reduce your pain. 

The second bit of good news is you can choose your favorite sonic prescription as your musical medicine.

The third piece of good news: there are no negative side effects.

A recent study by a multi-institutional team in the Netherlands and published in the highly respected scientific journal Nature (1) tested pain tolerance comparing the efficacy of 5 different genres (Urban, Rock, Classical, Electronic, and Pop). 

The data showed that listening to a preferred musical genre had a positive influence on the patient’s pain tolerance, irrespective of the genre. Contrary to the presumptive bias of previous studies, the researchers found no significant differences in pain tolerance associated with the genres themselves.  

While there are musical attributes within any given genre that could impact differences in neurological and physiological responses (volume, dynamics, tempo, rhythm, character of the singer, harmonic rhythm, lyrical content, timbre, harmonic complexity), a good Motown ballad or classic Marley reggae jam could serve up a more potent dose of healing than a popular Mozart piano concerto, if that’s YOUR groove. 

Music is a perfect example of personalized medicine – at once universally healing and individually designed. And with well over 100 million musical selections on popular music streaming services, there’s something available for everyone, including you.

Feeling a little pain? Why not try a dose of one of your favorite artists or a few spins of your favorite song or musical style. 

And because the right blend of novelty can often help in a state of flow, don’t be afraid to restock your musical medicine cabinet with a few new selections you discover you like along the way.

Nature article https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-72882-2