The Effectiveness of Music Therapy for Post-Operative Pain Control among Total Knee Replacement Patients

ABSTRACT

Pain is an unpleasant sensation that can cause physical and psychological problems for the patient. Despite the pharmacological intervention for reducing pain, it remains as an issue after surgery. Music therapy as non-pharmacological intervention can effect post-operative pain and patients’ requirement of analgesics. The purpose of this study was to determine effect of music therapy on pain after elective total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. This study compared analgesics consumption by patients post-operatively for five days. A Quasi-experimental design with convenience sample of patient with a mean of 64.35 (49-76) who underwent TKR in UKM Medical Centre from May to December 2012 was used. Forty patients were randomly assigned in one of the two groups using a sealed-envelope technique. The experimental group listened to music for five days post-operatively and were on analgesics and control group were treated with pharmacological intervention only. Pain was measured by McGill Pain Questionnaire-Short Form (MPQ-SF) for patient on bed rest on day one, day three and day five post-operatively. Statistical (Mann- Whitney) findings between groups showed the experimental group significantly had less pain on day one and day five rather than the control group at 0.05 level using Pain Rating Intensity (PRI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Present Pain Intensity (PPI). Statistical (Friedman) tests within group showed that the patient had significantly decreased pain over time at level 0.05 using PRI, VAS and PPI. Statistical (Mann- Whitney) tests revealed that there was no significant difference when using analgesics between the two groups in five days post-operatively at milligram but comparing median showed experimental group used less analgesic than control group. Music therapy is simple, available, save and cheap effective intervention for pain management post-operatively. Pain management is one of the key roles of nursing and nurses can use music therapy as a simple intervention to reduce pain.