Music and pattern change in chronic pain

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Pain Management

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease causing persistent pain.
• Managing chronic pain in RA is complex and often requires multimodal approaches.
• Newman's model of health as expanding consciousness provides a framework for understanding health experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore music as a unitary-transformative intervention for altering chronic pain perception.
• To investigate the effects of music on pain in women with rheumatoid arthritis.
• To apply Newman's theory to understand the impact of music on health as expanding consciousness.

Main Methods:

• A repeated measures design was employed.
• Thirty women with rheumatoid arthritis participated.
• The McGill Pain Questionnaire was administered before, during, and after music listening.

Main Results:

• Analysis focused on the Number of Words Chosen (NWC) and Pain Rating Index-Rank [PRI(R)].
• Results indicated a significant alteration in pain perception.
• Music listening demonstrated a positive effect on pain experience.

Conclusions:

• Music serves as a unitary-transformative intervention for chronic pain.
• The findings support the integration of music into RA pain management strategies.
• Music can facilitate an expanded state of health consciousness in individuals with RA.