Feasibility of therapeutic music listening in fibromyalgia: a randomised controlled pilot study 2022 Raglio et al

Abstract

Background
Fibromyalgia patients can benefit from music approaches as complementary treatments. In the literature, it was shown that these interventions managed pain conditions as well as reduced complaints, increased relaxation, and improved moods.

Objective
This study aimed at evaluating music therapy, in the form of therapeutic music listening, specifically for patients with fibromyalgia, to treat chronic pain by reducing pain perception, increasing well-being, and improving quality of life.

Methods
Twenty-four patients with fibromyalgia were recruited to take part in this feasibility pilot study that adopted a between-subject and within-subject design. Participants were randomised into three groups: (1) standard care, (2) standard care plus preferred music listening, (3) standard care plus Melomics-Health music listening, composed by an algorithm. Participants in experimental groups listened to 30 min of music at home, twice a day for a month. Patients’ perceptions of changes following the listening, the intensity of pain and its interference in their lives, physical and mental well-being, and reported attitudes towards listening to music were evaluated respectively through the patients’ global impression of change, the brief pain inventory, the Short Form Healthy Survey-12, and the cognitive behavioural assessment-outcome evaluation.

Results
The study showed that music listening can significantly affect mental well-being compared to no music. Moreover, the effects in the Melomics-Health group are maintained at follow-up. No significant effect on pain perception was noted.

Conclusions
The study provides information supporting a possible role of music listening in improving well-being of patients with fibromyalgia.

Paywall, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-022-06488-9

 

And here is a link to the Melomics Health output which outperformed music chosen by the participants.



I have dip-sampled across their “pain relief” and “relaxation” collections, and could not tell any difference between the two.

 

Why research the pathology of a disease when you can just say that music therapy works and declare victory? heh

 

Their music as "complementary treatment." Complementary = alternative = integrative = quackery (unless definitively proven otherwise).

My n=1 as a PwFM is this: music is no longer pleasurable, except for classical guitar. It is simply too much sensory input.


Also, in the pilot feasibility study of 24 patients, listening to music 30 minutes twice a day for a MONTH....how much time did the subject tune out the music? How much time was spent actually listening.

The pain and exhaustion and other symptoms are so recalcitrant, that this simplistic approach is doomed to fail in all but the misdiagnosed.

 

WTH is wrong with these people? This is childish nonsense. At this point I'm half-expecting CBT course for how to tie our shoes because this feels like some sort of Teletubbies alternate universe.

 

Well, from the short snippets, that plunky harp sounds like a beginner playing a boring exercise. I would give it a D and that's being generous.

The cello sounds like endless vibrato exercises. The same few notes of the same tone quality seem to be played randomly over and over and over but with lots of vibrato in an attempt to make something of it. Silk purse and sow's ear comes to mind..

So music affects mood. This must be THE biggest newsflash of the millennium.