How Singing May Be the Best Treatment for Chronic Pain.

Singing as a form of chronic pain therapy

Ok, that may be an exaggeration. But if you are wondering if music affects the brain it does. Likewise the brain affects our perception of pain. So singing may be the best treatment for chronic pain.

Stick with me. It may make sense when I’m done.  

Music is a big part of my life, I love music and play the piano. I sang in the high school choir and every week I sing in church.

Every Sunday I attend church and sing hymns. (For anyone who is Lutheran you know we sing ALL of the verses.) 

Since I know we will be singing every verse I find myself relaxing and slowing down as I absorb the words and music. Singing is a form of meditation, especially when in religious activity.

If you enjoy singing then it counts as a form of self-care, and we all need more of that. 

When I leave church my my pain level is consistently two or three points lower than when I arrived. It’s true. 

There is actually a logical explanation of how this happens, me being the science geek. Of course, I had to look into this. So, when you sing, even singing in the shower. A couple of things happen. 

Music arouses emotional responses. Listening to music activates the brain’s reward center to release endorphins and dopamines. Research has proven that listening to music reduces heart and respiratory rates and also reduces post-operative pain.

Does Music Affect the Brain?

It’s like taking a happy pill without the tablets!

British Journal of Pain (Aug:10:124-134)

It certainly does. Music affects the brain in many ways. There is scientific proof that music stimulates the formation of mood enhancing brain chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin) At the same time it decreases cortisol levels. 

Singing your favorite songs has even more powerful pain-fighting power.

Singing with other people, in church, choir, or a group combines all three facets of the biopsychosocial component of the chronic pain model. 

Singing and Health Benefits

• Releases endorphins and dopamine
• Stimulates diaphragmatic or deep belly breathing
• Slows the heart and respiration rate
• Decreases muscle tension
• Stimulates the vagus nerve with the vibration of the vocal cords
• Improves body awareness through mindfulness
• Singing with others improves social engagement and acceptance

The pain may still present, but the pain signals to the brain are reduced and pain is perceived less intensely. 

Chronic pain normally causes anxiety. Anxiety causes us to chest breath and we take shallow breaths. When we take slow deep breaths our bodies actually activated to release endorphins which then decreases the pain signals in the brain.

Singing slows our breathing, we take deep breaths in order to hold the long note. That long-held note has a huge benefit in addressing our pain. The diaphragmatic breathing strengthens intercostal muscles and the diaphragm. This can improve balance to those who have back pain. 

So Start Singing in the Shower

Create a favorite sing along playlist, buy a bluetooth waterproof speaker for your phone and just sing!

Sing until the hot water runs out.

Sing until you smile.

References

R.I.M Dunbar, Kostas Kaskatis, Ian MacDonald, 2012, Performance of Music Elevates Pain Threshold and Positive Affect: Implications for the Evolutionary Function of Music, Evolutionary Psychology

Joke Brady, PhD, Marisol Norris, MA, Patricia Gerrity, PhD, Summer 2016, Vocal Music Therapy for Chronic Pain Management in Inner-City African Americans: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study, Journal of Music Therapy

Jillian Vicinanza, MT-BC, September 2017, Current Trends in Music Therapy and Pain Management, Thesis, Music Therapy of the State University of New York at New Paltz 

Mirella J Hopper, Suzi curtis, Rebecca Simm, Aug 2016, A qualitative study exploring the effects of attending a community pain service choir on wellbeing in people who experience chronic pain, British Journal of Pain

Eduardo A Garza-Villarreal, Andrew D Wilson, Lene Vase et al, Feb 2014 Music Reduces Pain and INcreases Fundtional Mobility in Fibromyalgia, Front Psychology,