THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC AND BASIC RELAXATION INSTRUCTION ON PAIN AND ANXIETY OF WOMEN UNDERGOING IN-OFFICE GYNECOLOGICAL PROCEDURES

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effects of music and relaxation techniques on pain and anxiety of women undergoing in-office gynecological procedures. Twenty-two subjects ranging in age from 17 to 43 years were all patients of the same gynecologist and had medical treatments requiring instrumentation of the cervix: colposcopy (microscopic examination); punch biopsy (removal of tissue with punch action instrument); or cryosurgery (removal of tissue by freezing). Subjects were divided into two groups. Control subjects received the usual medical procedure without music, and experimental subjects received their choice of music through headphones after having been given basic relaxation instructions. Dependent variables during the procedure were pulse rate, respiratory rate, behavioral observation of overt pain, and self-report of pain and anxiety. Subjects were also telephoned 24 hours after the procedure and asked to report their level of pain and anxiety. During the medical treatment, data collection occurred at five designated points of the procedure: (a) following preparation of the patient in the treatment room; (b) upon the doctor's entrance; (c) at the moment of punch biopsy (if that treatment was given to the subject); (d) at the moment of cervical instrumentation (scraping); and (e) upon the doctor's exit. Graphic analyses of the data revealed differences between the groups' reactions, which were then statistically analyzed using a Mann-Whitney U test. Control subjects demonstrated higher pulse rates, respiratory rates, behavioral indices of pain, and anxiety reports throughout the procedures; however, these scores did not differ significantly from those of the experimental group. Analysis of data for subjects receiving a punch biopsy, an extremely painful gynecological procedure, showed that the selected control subjects (n = 5) had a significantly higher respiratory rate (U = 1.5, n1 = 3, n2 = 5, alpha = .05) and significantly higher overt pain score (U = 2.5, n1 = 4, n2 = 5, alpha = .05) than did the selected experimental subjects (n = 4).