Could listening to pop music ease your pain?
Listening to music can help to alleviate physical pain, according to 41% of people living with persistent pain.
Music seems to have an even bigger impact for younger people, with two thirds of people aged 16 to 24 claiming it helps with their pain management.
The study, conducted by LloydsPharmacy, found that pop music is the most popular genre of music to listen to, helping to alleviate pain for one fifth of people followed by classical and then rock or indie at 16%.
An estimated 10 million people in the UK experience some pain most days. Persistent or chronic pain includes back and neck pain, arthritis, joint pain and headaches or migraines. Four out of five adults will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives and around 10 million people in the UK are currently living with arthritis.
Previous studies have found that stress and anxiety worsen the experience of pain, so anything that helps to make people feel relaxed can also help with their pain.
The top five songs to relax to as recommended by people living with persistent pain are:
Bridge over troubled water (Simon and Garfunkel)
Angels (Robbie Williams)
Albatross (Fleetwood Mac)
Candle in the wind (Elton John)
Easy (The Commodores)
The community pharmacy chain sought input from over 1,500 people living with persistent pain through survey research. LloydsPharmacy will now be piloting the recommendations in its free in-store pain service at selected locations across the UK.
Andrew Mawhinney, LloydsPharmacy pharmacist and pain expert says: “There are lots of different ways of managing pain, not only with medicines but also with lifestyle changes such as moderate exercise and relaxation.
“After speaking to many people who are living with pain we were interested to learn just how many found music beneficial, which is why we’re now trialing the use of music within our pain service in some of our pharmacies.”
David Bradshaw, a Research Assistant Professor at The University of Utah Pain Management Center said: "People in pain should try to find some activity to get fully engaged in. Listening to favourite music is excellent for that because it can involve both thoughts and feelings. No matter how anxious you may feel, if you can get absorbed in the music this can help with your pain. Choose music you like and know well, humming or singing along can help you engage in listening and distract you from your pain."
Of those who listen to music to help with their pain – one third said they did so as often as they could, while 40% chose to listen in the evenings.
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