Recovering from surgery can be a challenging experience, but a simple and enjoyable activity—listening to music—may help reduce pain, anxiety, and the need for medication, according to a new study presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco, California.
Researchers from California Northstate University College of Medicine analyzed 3,736 studies on music’s role in post-surgical recovery and narrowed them down to 35 high-quality studies that tracked important patient outcomes such as pain levels, anxiety, heart rate, and opioid use.
Their findings suggest that music therapy could be an easy and low-cost way to improve recovery.
One of the biggest benefits was pain reduction. Patients who listened to music reported lower pain levels the day after surgery, with about a 19% reduction on the Numeric Rating Scale and a 7% reduction on the Visual Analog Scale. Although pain relief is subjective, researchers believe that if patients feel less pain, their overall recovery experience improves.
Listening to music also helped reduce anxiety. Across all the studies, patients reported feeling about 3% less anxiousaccording to a standard anxiety survey. Surgery can be stressful, and for many patients, waking up from anesthesia can be disorienting and frightening. Music may offer a sense of calm during this transition.
Another key finding was that patients who listened to music required significantly less opioid medication. On the first day after surgery, music-listening patients used less than half the amount of morphine compared to those who did not. This is a major finding, given the concerns about opioid dependence and addiction.
Music also had a measurable effect on heart rate, with patients experiencing an average reduction of 4.5 beats per minute. This is important because maintaining a stable heart rate helps ensure that oxygen and nutrients are properly delivered to healing tissues.
A rapid heart rate after surgery can increase the risk of complications such as irregular heart rhythms (atrial fibrillation), which can be dangerous.
One reason music might be so effective is its ability to lower cortisol levels, the body’s primary stress hormone. High cortisol levels can increase pain and slow healing, so reducing stress could contribute to a faster and smoother recovery.
Unlike other recovery methods, music requires no effort from the patient. Exercises like meditation or physical therapy can be beneficial, but they require concentration and movement, which can be difficult right after surgery. In contrast, listening to music is passive—patients can do it easily, without any special equipment or training.
The researchers did not find evidence that one type of music is better than another. According to Dr. Eldo Frezza, senior author of the study, patients should listen to whatever music they enjoy. Familiar or comforting music may help patients feel more at ease and connected to their normal environment, making the hospital setting feel less intimidating.
Because the study was based on previous research, it could not account for how long each patient listened to music or whether some styles of music were more effective than others. Future research will focus on testing music therapy in hospitals and intensive care units to determine how best to integrate it into patient care.
While music won’t replace traditional treatments, it may serve as an effective and low-cost way to help manage pain and anxiety during recovery. Dr. Frezza’s advice? If you feel up to it after surgery, play your favorite tunes—you may just heal a little faster.
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The research findings can be found in Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
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