A patient-controlled, smartphone-based music intervention to reduce pain—A multi-center observational study of patients with chronic pain

IntroductionMusic is widely used to reduce patients’ pain and discomfort within clinical settings. The smartphone-based, patient-controlled Music Care application has previously been evaluated in Alzheimer’s type dementia, patients with chronic low back pain, mechanical inflammatory, non-malignant, musculoskeletal, or neurological pain, as well as for its use to reduce acute pain in the intensive care unit.MethodsThe aim of the present, multi-center observational study was to evaluate the feasibility and general usability of the application in a sample of patients with different chronic pain conditions, and to conduct a preliminary exploration of potential predictors of outcome response. Fifty-three patients from two university hospitals (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire; CHU) de La Réunion in France participated in the trial. Patients completed several questionnaires on their musical preferences and experiences and provided self-reports on pain intensity, anxiety and satisfaction with the intervention before and after the use of the application. Each patient used the application at least once (data for 7 sessions reported).ResultsListening to self-selected music for 20 min, significantly reduced pain and anxiety. Responders (defined by a 33% reduction of pain intensity) reported significantly greater satisfaction with the intervention. Analysis of responder characteristics further revealed that patients who indicated to play a musical instrument were unlikely to report a clinically relevant decrease in pain intensity.Discussion/conclusionsThe use of the Music Care application within this setting proved good feasibility. The limitations of the present study and recommendations for future evaluations incorporating physiological outcome measurements are discussed.