What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Letter. Population: Chronic pain. Intervention: Music intervention vs. Control group.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to evaluate the effects of music intervention on pain, mood, sleep quality, and heart rate variability in individuals with chronic pain.

April 24, 2026Open Access

Effects of Music Intervention on Pain, Mood, Sleep, and Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial Letter

Key Result

Music intervention for chronic pain requires standardized assessment schedules, consistent treatment doses, and intention-to-treat analysis to ensure robust and clinically applicable results.

Key Points

The aim is to evaluate the effects of music intervention on pain, mood, sleep quality, and heart rate variability in individuals with chronic pain.
Conducted a randomized controlled trial with participants suffering from chronic pain.
Implemented music intervention and measured its effects on pain levels, mood, sleep quality, and heart rate variability.
Utilized validated assessment tools and statistical analyses to determine outcomes.
Music intervention significantly reduced pain levels in participants.
Improved mood and sleep quality were observed following the intervention.
Heart rate variability showed positive changes, indicating potential physiological benefits.

Structured PICO

Does music intervention improve pain, mood, sleep, and heart rate variability in patients with chronic pain?

Population

Patients with chronic pain (mixed group without categorization of pain types)

Intervention

Music intervention (listening to music at different times of the day, 3-4 sessions per day)

Comparator

Control group

Outcome

Pain, mood, sleep, and heart rate variabilitypatient reported

This letter outlines methodological limitations, such as inconsistent assessment timing and lack of ITT analysis, in a recent trial evaluating music therapy for chronic pain.

Limitations

Inconsistent assessment schedules between experimental and control groups
Variable treatment doses and delivery methods
Mixed group of chronic pain patients without categorization
Lack of effect size measurements to establish clinical significance
Unclear if intention-to-treat analysis was performed for lost participants

Abstract

Satwinder Kaur, Aarunee Srivastava, Sandeep Pattnaik Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana-Ambala, Haryana, IndiaCorrespondence: Sandeep Pattnaik, Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana-Ambala, Haryana, 133207, India, Email physiosandeep94@gmail.com

Connected Papers

Building similarity graph...

Analyzing shared references across papers

Discussion

Journals

Journal of Pain Research

References and Citations

Add This Paper to Your Research Feed

Any time a new paper drops it will be there.