Make Surgery More Tolerable?
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RossHelen/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Surgery and anxiety go hand-in-hand, but having a distraction during a procedure may also help to relieve pain.
A new study in the European Journal of Pain compares distraction — DVDs, stress balls, conversations — to see if they can relieve anxiety and if they have an effect on pain as well.
Researchers from Surrey, England recruited 400 patients that were to have the same minimally invasive surgery, such as varicose vein removal, and had them undergo different “distractions” during the procedure.
One group watched DVDs, the second listened to music, another had a nurse solely dedicated to conversation, the fourth kneaded stress balls, and the last group proceeded with surgery as usual, without intervention.
Pre and post-operative surveys on stress, anxiety and pain showed that human interaction fared best — those patients had 30 percent less anxiety and 16 percent less pain than the control group.
The stress ball group had 18 percent less anxiety and 22 percent less pain.
The DVDs helped decrease anxiety, 25 percent less than the control group, but had no effect on pain.
The most surprising result however may have been the group who listened to music. Music, usually assumed to have a soothing effect, had no effect on pain or anxiety levels in the patients included in the survey.
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