Implementing Music Listening to Improve Pain Scores in Adult Orthopaedic Patients

Optimizing pain management has been shown to improve outcomes in adults undergoing orthopaedic procedures, especially in patients older than 65 years. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if listening to music would impact pain scores among adult patients in a 48-bed orthopedic surgery unit. Patients admitted with an orthopedic diagnosis were encouraged to listen to prerecorded music daily, with a goal of 20-30 min. Study results showed that music listening was clinically and statistically significant. The mean baseline numeric rating score of 6.63 (SD = 2.84) reduced to 4.91 (SD = 2.84) after the intervention (p = .001). Participants also reported that music listening helped with falling asleep and resting, decreasing anxiety, and relaxing. Adding complementary therapies like music listening to pharmacological modalities leads to better acute postoperative pain management and decreases the need for additional pain medications including opioids.