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Pain Management

Nursing Spectrum

February 10, 2003 - Vol. 13, No.3

For Cancer Patients, Good Vibrations Help Ease Pain

Valerie Coope, RN, OCN

Nurses at the Ella Milbanks Foshay Cancer Center in Jupiter feel they have a sound approach to pain management -- musically, sound, that is. Based on a program used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. Foshay nurses have experimented with an innovative technology called vibroacoustic music that uses music felt by the body as well as heard. The nursing staff found they could attain a greater than 60% reduction in pain and anxiety using this novel technique. The vibroacoustic option is now a standard offering at Foshay.
Patients at the cancer center can ease discomfort during infusion treatment by relaxing in a comfortable recliner, closing their eyes, and allowing musical sound vibrations to help relieve stress, pain, or symptoms of their cancer and treatment. These vibrations significantly reduce patients' experience of anxiety, pain, fatigue, nausea, headache, and tension.

Sound Science
     In fact, an elevation of vibroacoustic music use at the NIH, headed by George Patrick, PhD, chief of recreation therapy in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department, found a 49% to 61% reduction of pain and anxiety in patients with varying diagnoses.ą
     How does the technique work? Several elements seem to be at work. The vibrations of vibroacoustic therapy are solely the result of musical sound that creates a complex pattern, rather than a single vibration like that produced by a massage chair. Patrick believes vibroacoustic therapy triggers the body's relaxation response, thereby reducing physical tension and anxiety -- and apparently illness symptoms and pain, as well.
     Another contributing factor is the configuration of the Somatron® clinical motorized recliner used at NIH and Foshay. The equipment reclines patients into the Trendelenburg position, placing the body at 90-degree angles at the hips and knees. Physicians recommend this because the patient's legs are placed above the heart -- this not only reduces pressure on the spine, but relieves full-body muscle tension and increases circulation. Astronauts in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program sit in this position during liftoff because it distributes body weight in the least stressful way.

Nurse-Driven Pilot
   The Foshay program began when Chris Brewer, a music specialist, researched vibroacoustic music and teamed up with the cancer center to pilot the effort.
     The critical question was whether busy nurses could facilitate a vibroacoustic music program and achieve the same pain and symptom reduction success as the NIH had seen. Fortunately, the answer seems to be a resounding yes -- the results of a six-week program evaluation show a greater than 60% reduction in pain, symptoms, and anxiety.

     Foshay nurses collected data from more than 40 patients about their pain intensity levels using a visual analog scale, while tension levels were measured with the poppin Seven Point Self-Report. Pre- and post-session data was gathered that showed how symptom intensity and tension levels changed after a half-hour vibroacoustic music session. The NIH provided assistance in evaluation design and computation of results. The majority of patients reported positive comments, saying they appreciated the physical and mental relief experienced in the vibroacoustic music session and left feeling much better at the session's end.
     What's more, the center's nurses said they felt a great deal of professional satisfaction in helping improve patients' treatment Nursing Leather Recliner Chair experience -- and that the music had a calming effect on them, too. Using the equipment proved easy and needed little additional time.
     The Somatron vibroacoustic pain, symptom, and anxiety management program has also helped Foshay meet pain management requirements set forth by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health care Organizations.
     Reworking the original program design somewhat, Foshay has since implemented a vibroacoustic pain and symptom management program in the recently remodeled cancer center, and Somatron recliners have been installed in six infusion stations. Each vibroacoustic station is designed to create a relaxed atmosphere, with curtains for privacy and lighting that can be dimmed as desired. A variety of music is used, including the anxiolytic type used in the evaluation.
     A review of the new program design is planned for 2003, but Foshay nurses are pleased with its results so far. Not only are patients' ears blessed with the sound of music, but their minds and bodies are also in tune with good vibrations.

Valerie Coop, RN, OCN, is director of the Ella Milbanks Foshay Cancer Center at Jupiter Medical Center, Jupiter,. Assisting with this article is Chris Brewer, MA, FAMI, a Fellow of the Association of Music and Imagery. A consultant in music in health and education, Brewer lives in Greensboro, NC.

Reference
1. Patrick G. The effects of vibroacoustic music on symptom reduction: inducing the relaxation response through good vibrations. IEEE Eng Med Biol. 1999;March/April:97-100

More Info

For more information about vibroacoustic music and pain / symptom management e-mail Dr. Brotman at brotmanp@verizon.net

"The Effect of Somatron and Music on Headache"

Source:      Unpublished research paper
Location:   Mr. & Mrs. Albert Sims Music Therapy Laboratory
                   Phillips University
                   Enid, Oklahoma
Date:
Contact Information:   Dr. Juanita McElwain, RMT-BC
                                      Phillips University
                                      Enid, Oklahoma

This paper presents a study that looked at the effects of vibrotactile stimulation, via a Somatron, on headaches. Twenty-five volunteers that were experiencing a headache (stress, migraine, sinus, allergy and “other”) participated in thirty minute sessions of vibrotactile stimulation using a Somatron recliner. Twenty-three of the twenty-five volunteers reported that their headaches had been eliminated at the end of their thirty minute session. This finding was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001).