Return to: Music and Medicine on Monday Schedule of Events and Disclaimer
Protocol page initiated November 2025 by Ifeanyi Onuh BS
Example of Treatment Session
(7 minutes 19 seconds)
Music Therapy Assisting Pain Management Part 1: Technique
(16 minutes 49 seconds)
Definitions
Music Therapy (MT): A clinical, evidence-based use of music interventions delivered by a board-certified music therapist to address individualized physical, emotional, and psychosocial goals for hospitalized patients, including reduction of pain and anxiety in the postoperative setting (Bojorquez 2020; Lin 2020).
M.A.R.- Music Assisted Relaxation: passive listening to music with therapeutic guidance employing specialized approaches beyond simple music exposure - designed to reduce anxiety and pain while enhancing relaxation (deWitte 2025)
Music Medicine (MM): Use of pre-recorded music (often via headphones or speakers) provided by healthcare staff rather than a credentialed music therapist, typically following a standardized protocol to reduce postoperative pain or anxiety (Lin 2020).
Postoperative Pain (POP): Acute pain that occurs after surgery and is one of the most frequent and important clinical problems following orthopedic and other surgical procedures, affecting the majority of patients and influencing recovery, mobility, and satisfaction with care (Lin 2020).
Postoperative Anxiety: Psychological distress after surgery characterized by worry, tension, or fear related to pain, function, or recovery; in hospitalized adults it is commonly assessed with validated patient-reported scales and is a key target for adjunctive MT interventions (Bojorquez 2020; Lin 2020)
Inpatient Music Therapy Encounter: A one-on-one bedside session in which a board-certified music therapist assesses a hospitalized surgical patient’s pain, anxiety, and psychosocial needs and then provides individualized interventions such as receptive listening, lyric discussion, relaxation, or active music making (Bojorquez 2020).
Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS): An 11-point patient-reported scale from 0 to 10 used to rate pain intensity, where 0 = no pain, 1–3 = mild pain, 4–6 = moderate pain, and 7–10 = severe pain; used to quantify changes in pain before and after MT sessions (Bojorquez 2020).
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Anxiety Short Form: A validated questionnaire that measures anxiety severity on a T-score metric, with ranges corresponding to none/slight, mild, moderate, and severe anxiety; used to evaluate anxiety changes surrounding MT encounters (Bojorquez 2020).
Orthopedic Surgical Patients: Adult patients undergoing procedures such as hip, knee, or spine surgery who frequently experience moderate to severe POP and are a major population in whom the effects of MM and MT on pain, anxiety, and recovery have been studied (Lin 2020).
Nonpharmacologic Pain Management: Adjunctive strategies that do not involve medications—such as MT/MM, relaxation, and education—used alongside opioid and non-opioid analgesics to improve pain control and potentially limit drug-related adverse effects in postoperative patients (Bojorquez 2020; Lin 2020).
Patient-Selected Music: Music chosen by the patient from their preferred genres or playlists; in meta-analytic subgroup analyses, allowing postoperative orthopedic patients to select their own music was associated with greater reductions in pain intensity compared with predetermined music selections (Lin 2020).
Background
References
Bojorquez GR, Jackson KE, Andrews AK. Music Therapy for Surgical Patients: Approach for Managing Pain and Anxiety. Crit Care Nurs Q. 2020 Jan/Mar;43(1):81-85. doi: 10.1097/CNQ.0000000000000294. PMID: 31789881.
Lin CL, Hwang SL, Jiang P, Hsiung NH. Effect of Music Therapy on Pain After Orthopedic Surgery-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Pain Pract. 2020 Apr;20(4):422-436. doi: 10.1111/papr.12864. Epub 2020 Jan 9. PMID: 31785131.
Goel SK, Kim V, Kearns J, Sabo D, Zoeller L, Conboy C, Kelm N, Jackovich AE, Chelly JE. Music-Based Therapy for the Treatment of Perioperative Anxiety and Pain-A Randomized, Prospective Clinical Trial. J Clin Med. 2024 Oct 15;13(20):6139. doi: 10.3390/jcm13206139. PMID: 39458090; PMCID: PMC11508415.
de Witte M, Aalbers S, Vink A, Friederichs S, Knapen A, Pelgrim T, Lampit A, Baker FA, van Hooren S. Music therapy for the treatment of anxiety: a systematic review with multilevel meta-analyses. EClinicalMedicine. 2025 Jun 9;84:103293. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103293. PMID: 40547443; PMCID: PMC12179724.