Does music affect pain, physical function and immune system in chronic low back pain?

During an inpatient rehabilitation stay, 65 patients suffering from low back pain were selected randomly into two therapy groups, one with standardized physical therapy accompanied by music and instructions for relaxation, the other one without the additional music application. A specially produced music on CD for application on pain had to be listened to once a day for 25 minutes through headphones over a period of three weeks. Global pain, diagnosed by the visual analogue scale (VAS), as well as pain on pressure improved significantly. The Roland & Morris Disability Questionnaire for low back pain revealed the subjective disability to have improved more distinctly in the music group than in the comparative group. It was striking that the music therapy had a positive influence on sleep disturbances accompanying chronic low back pain, as has been proven by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.