More hospitals turn to music therapy as research shows songs can lower the need for painkillers

Over the past two decades, live performances and recorded music have flowed into hospitals and doctors’ offices as research grows on how songs can help ease pain. SCIENTISTS EXPLORE HOW MUSIC AFFECTS PAIN PERCEPTIONThe healing power of song may sound intuitive given music’s deep roots in human culture. But the science of whether and how music dulls acute and chronic pain — technically called music-induced analgesia — is just catching up. Chronic pain usually involves long-term structural or other changes to the brain, which heighten overall sensitivity to pain signals. But it’s doing more than that,” said Caroline Palmer, a psychologist at McGill University who studies music and pain.