Nature's sights and sounds ease pain

The sights and sounds of nature can help ease the pain of invasive medical procedures in cancer patients, according to the latest research.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that the sights and sounds of chirping birds, ribbiting frogs and water trickling downstream eased the pain of cancer patients undergoing a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (BMAB).

BMAB is a painful medical procedure in which a six-inch long needle is inserted into the base of the spine for up to 10 minutes in order to extract bone marrow. Although performed using a local anaesthetic, around 40 per cent of cancer patients rank BMAB pain as moderate to severe.

In the study, 120 male and female patients were asked to rank the severity of pain felt during a bone marrow aspiration on a ten point scale. A rating above four is regarded as moderate to severe pain.

Patients either had the procedure performed in normal hospital surroundings, or in a bed surrounded by curtains painted with natural scenes such as forests and mountains. To add to the nature effect, the patient could also listen to background sounds to match the scene such as chirping birds or running water.

Overall, patients found bone marrow extraction to be a painful procedure, with an average rating of four on the pain scale.

However, patients exposed to the sights and sounds of nature had an average score of 3.9 on the pain scale, compared with an average of 5.7 for patients in normal hospital surroundings.

City sights and sounds did not significantly ease the pain experienced by the cancer patients.

Alternative pain control methods such as hypnosis and sedation cost more and carry addional risks, the researchers said.

The team now plan to expand the use of nature scenery and sounds in other clinics to try to replicate and strengthen the technique.

The findings are published in the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

This article was published on Tue 19 October 2010