Strumming My Pain...

by Dianne Cuyugan

Eh, what to say? Hmm... Actually, I don’t really like letting “other” people (or “hindi kapwa” in Filipino concept) know my thoughts especially online. Well, except for posting a little shout outs and status messages on Facebook or YM. On one part, I think it’s a bit unnecessary to share things especially those which would not concern a lot of people. Secondly, I don’t shed time thinking if there are people who would care to read my posts or notes. And lastly, I haven’t done blogging even just for fun. So clearly, there’s no point for me doing so. But hey! Why am I here on Blogspot? Well, I have to. What else can I do if it is required? (peace Sir!) I just hope blogging would be fun. And since this is my first blog, please bear with me.


I thought I would want my first blog to be music-related since music is usually on my background while I’m doing something. Then, while searching on Ebsco I encountered this article that caught my attention. It was “Interaction effects of visual distraction, auditory distractions and age on pain threshold and tolerance” done by Wright and Raudenbush and published this year, 2010. Basically, they investigated the effects of music and videos on the participants while they were subjected to pain, specifically in a cold pressor task wherein their hands and forearms were placed in a device with water maintained at a temperature of 3° Celsius. They found out participants aged 35 years and older perceived less pain while watching the romantic video with classic music. Moreover, the pain increased less severely after some time. They also found out, compared with older subsamples, the younger subsamples liked with greater significance heavy metal music and action videos. Although among the younger subsamples, males liked heavy metal music and action movies while the females liked romantic videos and classical music. Since it causes relaxation, preferred music and videos lead to higher pain tolerance and less perceived pain. It is then concluded that auditory and visual distractions mediate pain management.



Am I hearing IKR (I Know Right) responses? Am I still making sense? After all, this is the main reason this blog site was created, to talk about perception and sense and make sense all the time. Am I just stating the obvious that music and videos distraction lessen pain and that males like heavy metal music and action videos and females are more onto romantic videos? Haha, hindsight bias or I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon guys! Now I’m incorporating Psych 180 Social Psychology lessons here (credit to Ma’am Chei Billedo). Of course, we might say this is obvious because this typically applies to every one of us. But aren’t these kind of experimental results validate those I-know-right stuffs that are coming from nowhere? And aren’t validated stuffs ensure positive results on life applications? Oh I sound like a logico-positivist. Please don’t judge, I also favor socio-cultural and historical perspective. And oh, isn’t this also one of the reasons other people accuse psychology of being a fad? Music, videos, technology, and chronic pain are in. Somehow, the answer is yes.

Psychology is more often than not used in application. But hey! This is good, right? Knowing that a lot of Americans are in chronic pain and are undergoing physical therapy fuelled this research. Now, we have evidence to include music and visual distractions in therapy sessions. Moreover, although this cannot be an alternative for pain reliever it can increase the effect of the med since their pain threshold will be increased and tolerance will be greater. Thus, rehabilitation, therapy process and recovery would speed up.

I just remembered way back when I was a kid, I needed to be punctured on my thumb for blood sample (I don’t remember what for), my aunt doctor asked me to watch television (I’m just not sure if it was Sesame Street or cartoons) instead of watching her doing her stuff and inflicting pain on me (haha). I obey and indeed, it was as if I did not feel the needle pass through my skin! (Or maybe my Pacinian corpuscles, a mechanoreceptor for deep feeling and pain, failed. Now, it’s Biology 102 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy haha)

So what’s the implication? Filter the songs on your playlist so as not to increase the pain, haha. And let's catch a movie. But oh, I'm still talking about physical pain. Although I'm not also saying that we watch a movie only if we feel pain. I know a lot of us cannot endure that one haha. Hmm, well, there goes my first blog entry. It was like doing a reaction and/or reflection paper except for this is more fun haha. I just hope I did well.

P.S. Just another thought, is studying really that painful (and unbearable) to the extent that most of us need music on the background?

Source:
Wright, T., & Raudenbush, B. (2010). Interaction effects of visual distractions, auditory distractions and age on pain threshold and tolerance. North American Journal of Psychology, 12(1), 145-158. Retrieved from PsycINFO database.