Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Haptic/Graphic Rehabilitation: Integrating a Robot into a Virtual Environment Library and Applying it to Stroke Therapy
Published on: August 8, 2011
Music as a Therapy to Alleviate Anxiety During Inpatient Rehabilitation for Stroke
Maureen Le Danseur1, April D Crow1, Sonja E Stutzman1
1University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Purpose:
The aim of the study was to determine if listening to music may reduce anxiety experienced by stroke patients during acute rehabilitation.
Design:
A prospective, nonblinded, randomized study in an inpatient rehabilitation setting.
Methods:
Fifty participants were randomized into two groups: (1) 1 hour of music (intervention) or (2) no music (control). All participants completed pretest anxiety and depression screening and 44 completed the posttest anxiety screening. Differences between groups were determined using chi-square and t tests.
Findings:
After listening to music for 1 hour, participants who completed the posttest (n = 44) reported significantly less anxiety (p < .0001) compared to before the intervention. The control group showed no difference in their pre- and posttest anxiety scores (p = .84). No differences were determined among age, gender, or diagnostic groups.
Conclusions:
These findings demonstrate that music intervention may help lessen anxiety in rehabilitation patients poststroke.
Clinical Relevance:
Offering musical intervention to stroke patients in rehabilitation may lessen symptoms of anxiety.
Related Concept Videos
Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder
Gene Therapy
Group Therapy
Regulation of Stroke Volume
Preload refers to the degree of stretch on the heart before it contracts. It's analogous to the stretching of a rubber band; the more it's stretched, the more forcefully it snaps back. This concept is encapsulated in the Frank-Starling law of the...

