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Other common name(s): none
Scientific/medical name(s): none
Description
Music therapy is offered by a group of established healthcare professionals who use music in order to promote healing and enhance quality of life. Music therapy may be used to encourage emotional expression, promote social interaction, relieve symptoms, and for other purposes. Music therapists may use active or passive methods with patients, depending on the patients' needs and abilities.
Overview
There is some evidence that when used along with conventional treatment, music therapy can help to reduce pain and relieve chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. It may also relieve stress and provide an overall sense of well being. Some studies have found that music therapy can lower heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate.
How is it promoted for use?
Music therapists work with a variety of physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. Music therapy is often used in cancer treatment to help reduce pain, anxiety, and nausea caused by chemotherapy. Some people believe music therapy may enhance the health care of pediatric oncology patients by promoting social interaction and cooperation.
There is evidence that music therapy can reduce high blood pressure, rapid heart beat, depression, and sleeplessness. There are no claims music therapy can cure cancer or other diseases, but medical experts do believe it can reduce some symptoms, aid healing, improve physical movement, and enrich a patient's quality of life.
What does it involve?
Music therapists design music sessions for individuals and groups based on their needs and tastes. Some aspects of music therapy include making music, listening to music, writing songs, and talking about lyrics. It may also involve imagery and learning through music. Music therapy can be done in different places such as hospitals, cancer centers, hospices, at home, or anywhere people can benefit from its calming or stimulating effects. The patient does not need to have any musical ability to benefit from music therapy.
A related practice called music thanatology is sometimes used at the end of a patient's life to ease the person's passing. It is practiced in homes, hospices, or nursing homes.
What is the history behind it?
Music has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Ancient Greek philosophers believed that music could heal both the body and the soul. Native Americans have used singing and chanting as part of their healing rituals for millennia.. The more formal approach to music therapy began in World War II when US Veterans Administration hospitals began to use music to help treat soldiers suffering from shell shock. In 1944, Michigan State University established the first music therapy degree program in the world.
Today, over 70 colleges and universities have degree programs that are approved by the American Music Therapy Association. Music therapists must have at least a baccalaureate degree, 1200 hours of clinical training, and one or more internships before they can be certified. There are thousands of professional music therapists working in health care settings in the United States today. They serve as part of cancer-management teams in many hospitals and cancer centers, helping to plan and evaluate treatment. Some music therapy services are covered by health insurance.
What is the evidence?
Scientific studies have shown the value of music therapy on the body, mind, and spirit of children and adults. Researchers have found that music therapy used along with anti-nausea drugs for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy can help ease nausea and vomiting. A number of clinical trials have shown the benefit of music therapy for short term pain, including pain from cancer. Some studies have suggested that, when used with pain-relieving drugs, music may help decrease the overall intensity of the patient's experience of pain. Music therapy can also result in a decreased need for pain medicine in some patients, although studies have shown mixed results.
In hospice patients, one study found that music therapy improved comfort, relaxation, and pain control. Another study found that quality of life improved in cancer patients who received music therapy, even as it declined in those who did not. No differences were seen in survival between the two groups.
A more recent clinical trial looked at the effects of music during the course of several weeks of radiation treatments. The researchers found that, even though emotional distress (such as anxiety) seemed to be helped at the beginning of the course of treatment, the patients reported that this effect gradually decreased. Music did not appear to help such symptoms as pain, fatigue, and depression over the long term.
Other clinical trials have revealed a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, insomnia, depression, and anxiety with music therapy. No one knows all the ways music can benefit the body, but studies have shown that music can affect brain waves, brain circulation, and stress hormones. These effects are usually measured during and shortly after the music therapy.
Studies have shown that students who take music lessons have improved IQ levels, and show improvement in non-musical abilities as well. Other studies showed that listening to music composed by Mozart produces a short term improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities. Studies of brain circulation have shown that people listening to music composed by Mozart have more activity in certain areas of the brain. This has been called the "Mozart effect." Although not completely explained, this kind of information supports the idea that music can be used in many helpful ways.
Some clinical trials that involve listening to music have shown no benefit on anxiety during surgical procedures, although one study that allowed patients to choose their own music showed improved anxiety levels. One recent review of studies looked at the effect of music on all types of pain, and found a wide variation in its effects. The study authors observed that the best effects were on pain after surgery (short-term pain). It is important to note that not all studies of music use music therapists, who assess the patient's needs, circumstances, and preferences, as well as the different effects of certain types of music. This may account for some differences in clinical trial results.
Are there any possible problems or complications?
In general, music therapy done under the care of a professionally trained therapist has a helpful effect and is considered safe when used along with standard treatment. Musical intervention by untrained people can be ineffective, or even cause increased stress and discomfort.
Additional Resources
More Information from Your American Cancer Society
The following information on complementary and alternative therapies may also be helpful to you. These materials may be ordered from our toll-free number (1-800-ACS-2345).
References
American Music Therapy Association. Music Therapy Makes a Difference. Available at http://www.musictherapy.org/. Accessed 3/22/07.
Bodner M, Muftuler LT, Nalcioglu O, Shaw GL. FMRI study relevant to the Mozart effect: brain areas involved in spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurol Res. 2001 Oct;23(7):683-90.
Cepeda MS, Carr DB, Lau J, Alvarez H. Music for pain relief. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Apr 19;(2):CD004843.
Clark M, Isaacks-Downton G, Wells N, et al. Use of preferred music to reduce emotional distress and symptom activity during radiation therapy. J Music Ther. 2006 Fall;43(3):247-65.
Ezzone S, Baker C, Rosselet R, Terepka E. Music as an adjunct to antiemetic therapy. Oncol Nurs Forum. 1998; 25:1551-1556.
Hilliard RE. The Effects of Music Therapy on the Quality and Length of Life of People Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer. J Music Ther. 2003;40:113-137.
Jausovec N, Habe K. The "Mozart effect": an electroencephalographic analysis employing the methods of induced event-related desynchronization/synchronization and event-related coherence. Brain Topogr. 2003 Winter;16(2):73-84.
Krout RE. The Effects of Single-Session Music Therapy Interventions on the Observed and Self-Reported Levels of Pain Control, Physical Comfort, and Relaxation of Hospice Patients. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2001;18:383-390.
Lane D. Music therapy: a gift beyond measure. Oncol Nurs Forum. 1992;19:863-867.
Lane D. Music therapy: gaining an edge in oncology management. J Oncol Manag. 1993; Jan/Feb:42-46.
Pelletier CL. The effect of music on decreasing arousal due to stress: a meta-analysis. J Music Ther. 2004 Fall;41(3):192-214.
Phumdoung S, Good M. Music reduces sensation and distress of labor pain. Pain Manag Nurs. 2003 Jun;4(2):54-61.
Schellenberg EG. Music and nonmusical abilities. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001 Jun;930:355-71.
Schellenberg EG. Music lessons enhance IQ. Psychol Sci. 2004 Aug;15(8):511-4.
Watkins GR. Music therapy: proposed physiological mechanisms and clinical implications. Clin Nurse Spec. 1997;11:43-50.
Note: This information may not cover all possible claims, uses, actions, precautions, side effects or interactions. It is not intended as medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your doctor, who is familiar with your medical situation.
Revised: 03/26/2007
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