Here’s the bad news:

According to a recent nationwide survey, fifty percent of the U.S. population is struggling to cope with the aggravation of intermittent pain or with the misery of chronic pain.

Back pain was by far the most common issue mentioned in the survey.  Knees and shoulders were also a problem. Nearly one-tenth suffered from headaches.

Pain isn’t just a sensation you have – it interferes with your life.  Most people in the survey said that their pain was interfering with with one or more of these:

• work or other duties,
• emotion and mood,
• day-to-day activities,
• sleep, or
• general enjoyment of life.

Pain is more than just an unpleasant sensation. Raymond Gaeta, MD, associate professor of anaesthesia at the Stanford School of Medicine and director of pain management services at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, says pain is a hidden disease, receiving far less attention than other diseases.

Here’s good news:  music can alleviate chronic pain and depression

Listening to music can reduce chronic pain by up to 21 percent and depression by up to 25 percent, according to a paper in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Music can also make people feel more in control of their pain and less disabled by their condition.

The research established a strong link between music and depression.  Researchers carried out a controlled clinical trial with sixty people, dividing them into music groups and a control group.  People who listened to music for an hour every day for a week reported improved physical and psychological symptoms compared to the control group.

________________________________________________

Deepen Your Body of Knowledge

Dr. Lavine’s Daily Log helps chronic pain and fibromyalgia sufferers track their symptoms systematically.   That’s the only way you’ll know when the interventions you’re trying are helping on a consistent basis.

More research on music and chronic pain