Effect of music on subjective reports of pain in a work hardening setting

Chronic pain can limit a client's ability to participate in the therapeutic regime of a work hardening program. Modalities that serve to decrease the pain perceived by such clients might increase their ability to benefit from the program. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of music on clients' pain perception while engaged in a work hardening program. Ten subjects from two work hardening programs participated. The data collection period covered 4 days, during which clients listened to music for 2 days and did not listen to music for 2 days while performing their regular work hardening duties. Subjects alternated between music and nonmusic days. Data describing clients' perceptions of both pain intensity and unpleasantness were gathered every half hour using a sliding version of the visual analog scale. Analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant lower level of pain perception on days clients listened to music versus when they did not listen to music.