Coping with pain is perhaps the most difficult part of a workman’s compensation case, arguably more agonizing than filing a claim and even fighting with current or former employers. Physicians and companies will try to mask the pain with medication, however, as effective as some of this medication is, it can be very addictive, unhealthy and even bad for your body. Is there some way to find solace during recovery time without drugs?
According to a recent National Public Radio (NPR) report by Patti Neighmond, some are now saying that it’s likely.
In the past, the relationship between music and pain relief has been explored, but according to Neighmond, the tests always involved adults and classical music. Music has been attributed to helping listeners relax and distract their mind, which in turn relaxes their body and decreases the negative pain sensations.
Now, a new study is showing that children who have undergone major surgery statistically experienced less pain when they listened to music of their choice afterwards. If you’re suffering from your injuries and collecting worker’s compensation checks, you may learn a lot from these kids.
The study was conducted by Sunitha Suresh, Biomedical Engineering major at Northwestern University, and her father, Santhanam Suresh, professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics. The study involved 60 patients between ages 9 and 14 who were about to undergo significant orthopedic, urologic or neurological surgery. After their surgeries they were given narcotics for their pain and gave the doctors feedback on the efficacy of the medication.
The next day, the patients were split into three separate groups. One of which listened to a half hour of music, another a half hour of an audio-book of their choice, and another who was given a half hour of silence with noise cancelling earphones. They then used a method of measuring pain known as the “Faces Pain Scale,” which uses illustrated faces from extremely happy to extremely sad to help the patients describe how much pain they were in before and after the study. The research found that the patients recorded up to one whole pain scale less on the Faces Pain Scale after the audio therapy.
This can spread a powerful message for injured workers around the state coping with serious injury. Medication is risky and not always the answer to pain relief. Sometimes, having a good regimen of non-physical stress-relieving activities can help ease pain. There are many other alternatives to music you could try as well—reading and writing just to name a few.
We are respected work related injury lawyers for Athens, Georgia, and many of the surrounding regions. If you feel your pain is too much to handle or that your claim needs to be adjusted to compensate for the extreme amount of pain you’re coping with, contact us today for free consultation at (470) 285-8246.
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