Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on whether music can speed up recovery after surgery

If you are going in for surgery soon and are looking for a simple, creative way to recover faster - music might be the key. According to research presented at the 2024 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress, listening to music post-surgery can make a noticeable difference in your recovery.

The researchers analysed 35 studies on the effects of music on surgery patients. 

They found that listening to music either through headphones or speakers resulted in:

Lower pain levels: Patients who listened to music reported less pain the day after surgery, with up to a 19% reduction on pain scales.  What's interesting is that the researchers couldn't prove that the patients were actually in less pain, but their perception around the amount of pain they were in was reduced. 

Reduced anxiety: Music helped lower anxiety levels by about 3%, offering patients much-needed calm during recovery. 

Less opioid use: Patients listening to music used less than half the amount of morphine compared to those who didn’t. 

Slower heart rate: Music listeners had a reduced heart rate, which aids recovery by promoting better circulation and reducing the risk of complications like abnormal heart rhythms. 

The theory is that when patients wake up after surgery, they might feel scared or be unsure about where they are. Music helps to ease this transition after surgery and reduces stress levels in the body. 

Unlike more active recovery methods, listening to music requires little effort, making it a perfect option for post-op patients.

So, if you’ve just had surgery, the advice is simple - just play the music you love. 

Whether it’s classical, rock, or pop, music could be a comforting and powerful tool to help you heal.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News talksb Nana Girl.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Doctor Michel Di Concerns with US Now with our science
study of the week. Good morning, Good morning. I love
the study.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
It's cute and it's free.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, and also it kind of makes sense.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yeah, it totally makes sense. But we don't think about
it and we don't implement it. And so I'm all
for how do we help people to feel better or
do more with less? And this is a great study.
So this has just come out of the American College
of Surgeon's Clinical Congress, which was happening this week in
the US. So it's not a published paper, but it's
published research that they did in the conference. And what

(00:45):
they found is that if you have just had surgery,
listening to music when you come out of your surgery
and when your moved to your ward can significantly speed
up your recovery from that surgery. And it doesn't matter
if it's through your headphones or through a speaker, just
listening the act of listening to music. So what they
did in this study is they analyze seven hundred and

(01:08):
thirty six different studies on this topic, and they narrowed
it down to thirty five big research papers that had
measured very significant things anxiety, pain, heart rate, quartisile levels
of the patients. And what they said is, look, if
you've just had surgery, a lot of patients wake up
feeling scared and don't know where they are right. It
can be a little bit like when you come up

(01:28):
from anesthesia. You can be like, oh, this isn't my
normal surroundings. Things can be quite confusing. It's very sterile,
it's very white, and so music helps to ease that
transition for patients. It reduces their stress and it's passive.
You need no effort, you don't have to force yourself
to listen. If somebody just puts some music on in
the background, you can do it. So here's what they measured,
which is massive. So first they looked at anxiety levels

(01:52):
and they did a self reported survey of the patients
and they reported that they were overall three percent less
anxious than those who didn't have music. That's fine, that's
not a big number. But what they found is pain levels.
So they did what's called perceived pain, where they made
you fill out a survey a scale of one to
five how bad is the pain, And they found a

(02:13):
nineteen percent reduction in how patients perceived pain when they
were listening to music versus when they weren't. And it
doesn't matter whether or not the pain is the same.
If you're feeling less pain, then that matters to you.
And that was shown in the amount of morphine the
patients were taking. So patients who listened to music when
they came out of surgery took fifty percent less morphine

(02:37):
than those who didn't listen to music. So that's reduction
from one point sixty five milligrams to zero point seventy
five milligrams. So your perceived pain is left and therefore
you take less morphine. And we know that morphine long
term isn't isn't great for you. And your heart rate
was reduced by four and a half beats per minute
and so significantly reduced impactful things all by listening to music.

(03:00):
And what they said is right now, there are some
things that people suggest that you do when you come
out to help with these things. So and doing pilates,
which sounds crazy when you've just come out of surgery,
that can help to reduce anxiety and pain. But those
are very active things. And what they say in this
is not only is music passive, but it doesn't matter
what music it is. Just pick your favorite tune. If

(03:20):
you're in a classical, pick that, if you're in a
heavy metal, pick that.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Because I the reason I wasn't hugely surprised by the
results of the study is because I think we all
know that music can in our day to day lines,
regardless of with your head sudery or not. It can
change your mood, it can lift your mood, it can
accompany you, it can make you run faster. I mean,
you know, you put on put on something that you
really want to listen to on things, and you can
just see the impact and you're in day to day.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
Mode, don't and so we know this. Yeah, you go
to a hospital and it's sterile and it's clinical and
it's you know, all you can hear is the beeping
of the machines. I have to admit though, when I
had my C section for my twins, my surgeon did say,
put together a playlist because you're you're out there for
so long, but you're away for it and it's like, oh,
just bless your tunes while we're bringing a baby and
I was like, that's cool.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
No, there was definitely no music and my babies were delivered.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
But there you go. If you're going into surgery, get
some music, get some headphones. It's free and it might
help you to recover much more quickly so you can
go home safely.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Thank you so much, Michelle. We'll catch up next.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
Week for more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudken.
Listen live to News Talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio