Music therapy, an effective pain reliever for fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia, remains difficult to treat. To listen to music in a medical setting, what is called music therapy, helps to relieve those who suffer from it. An effective painkiller with no side effects!

Music does not soften the morals. According to several recent studies, it improves the lives of people who suffer from fibromyalgia , whatever is their age and length of their illness. This chronic syndrome results in symptoms throughout the body, often disabling and difficult to soothe, associated with sleep disorders and a great fatigue.

Pain results from the first session of music therapy

Several clinical trials reported that listening to music for 20 minutes in a medical setting, surrounded by psychologists, has a painkiller effect from the first day, an effect that increases with each session. Explanation: Fibromyalgia is a sort of hypersensitivity to pain and music therapy, part of the disciplines of art therapy, could balance the neurological circuits involved.

Although the mechanism is not yet fully deciphered, the music seems to induce a decline of sensitivity to pain (analgesia). Neuroscientists have even observed by MRI that five minutes of listening are enough to have an impact on the brain! " Music comes counteract the pain message . It also reduces stress and anxiety, two emotions that amplify pain, "says Stéphane Guétin, psychologist music therapist, and one of the first to have validated this therapy with fibromyalgia patients.

The relaxation induced helps relax tension and muscle contractures. "As it is less harmful, the person can slowly start moving and regain a normal life," the specialist adds.

Listen to music in peace

The choice of the pieces differs according to the studies. Some teams of psychologists and rheumatologists choose water sounds or "noise" corresponding to specific sound frequencies. Others let the fibromyalgic people choose the music they like as long as they find them relaxing. Still others prefer to select music that patients know little so as not to cause emotions eventually disturbing.

So, what do you prefer? "Contrary to what we thought, we observed that fibromyalgia pain and fatigue decrease in the same way, that patients listen to sounds or pieces. What is important is their rhythm and how to listen to them: with the helmet, lying down, in a quiet environment, "says Stéphane Guétin.

A tailor-made play list to relieve fibromyalgia

In France, a protocol was validated by the teams of Stéphane Guétin and Pr Jacques Touchon, a neurologist in Montpellier. So Music care is to achieve a musical montage that follows a certain progression (called "U"). This application developed for healthcare professionals can then be used at home, once the patient "trained" for its use by the medical team.

"We start by taking a thorough assessment of the person, his psychological state, his problems, and the music he loves, practice or listen," says music therapist Céline Masmonteil. The first pieces are very rhythmic to reason with the stress and anxiety of the patient , it may be of rock or even metal! Then the music slows down. Thus, the heart rate and the mental state follow its tempo. 

When the patient is relaxed, a more and more rhythmic music allows him to get back into reality. The various studies on the subject have established that a daily session should last 20 minutes, for two months. In practice, it is difficult to visit a music therapist every day, or even five times a week. "Patients come at least once a week and then on demand," says Céline Masmonteil.

Ideally, you could reproduce the experience at home, but not all therapists allow their patients to take the recording home. Nevertheless, it is always possible to calm down by listening to "simply" music. Last year, German and British psychologists have found that people with fibromyalgia and had a better pain control . "Music in itself is already beneficial," says Stéphane Guétin. It is necessary to put yourself in good conditions, lying down, with a helmet, even a mask of night on the eyes, and make sure not to be disturbed. "