Music is far more than just entertainment. The scientific community is well aware of this and is increasingly interested in the benefits of this art form, particularly in terms of pain management. In fact, listening to music after surgery could be a simple way of easing patients’ pain.

A research team at the California Northstate University, led by Dr Eldo Frezza, came to this conclusion after analysing the findings of 35 studies on the impact of music on pain, anxiety, heart rate, and morphine use after surgery.

Each of these studies involved, on average, 100 people who had just undergone abdominal or bone-related surgery.

Half of the volunteers listened to a variety of musical genres after their procedure. The duration varied from study to study, with some patients listening for 30 minutes and others throughout their hospital stay.

Participants in the control group, on the other hand, listened to no music following their surgery.

The findings showed that music seemed to reduce the level of pain felt by patients by an average of around 20%. Volunteers who listened to music also needed half as much morphine while in hospital as those who didn’t, according to New Scientist magazine.

In addition, the researchers found that music significantly soothed patients after their procedure by reducing their heart rate by 4.5 beats per minute and lowering their anxiety levels by 2.5 points on a scale of 20 to 80.

These virtues are linked to the fact that the brain secretes neurotransmitters, such as serotonin or dopamine, when listening to a pleasant piece of music.

Indeed, the medical world has increasingly used music to soothe patients during certain surgical and therapeutic procedures, as well as during childbirth. And classical music is not necessarily the most effective option: listening to any song that’s close to your heart can counteract the pain you may feel after surgery.