Effectiveness of music therapy on pain reduction and psychopharmacotherapy

The intention of this prospective study is to demonstrate the influence of the method of active music therapy in a group of 12 patients with fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndromes and polyarthritis on pain reduction, life quality and coping. There was a significant reduction of pain intensity and pain-related disability in the music group compared to a control group, but no change in the depression and anxiety score. Psychophysiological and psychodynamic models are presented to explain the effectiveness of music therapy on pain reduction. Clinical studies on music therapy as well as on other „art therapies“ should relate the analysis of clinical parameters to the descriptive-phenomenological documentation of the therapeutic process to demonstrate systematically the influence of music and art in the individual case.