Daily personalized music listening versus audiobook listening for chronic non-cancer pain in patients on long-term opioid therapy: a randomized controlled trial
- 1Neuropharmacology & Pain Group, Neuroscience Program, Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research, Barcelona, Spain; Pharmacology Unit, Department of Pathology
Abstract
Non-pharmacological adjuncts are needed for chronic non-cancer pain in patients receiving long-term opioid therapy. Music listening may reduce pain, but most previous trials have used passive controls, limiting attribution of effects specifically to music. In this open-label, parallel-group, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial, adults with chronic non-cancer pain receiving long-term opioid therapy were randomized 1:1 to four weeks of daily home-based music or audiobook listening. Analgesic outcomes included pain intensity, responder rates, quantity of pain relief, and multidimensional pain assessment; secondary outcomes included mood, quality of life, global impression of change, and safety. Of 70 participants entering the run-in period, 56 were randomized (28 per group). Adjusting for baseline pain intensity in a linear mixed-effects model, the between-group difference at end of treatment was -1.26 NRS points (95% CI -1.98 to -0.55; p<0.001; d=-0.70), favoring music. A [≥]30% pain-reduction criterion was met by 21.4% of participants in the music group and none in the audiobook group (p=0.023). An exploratory between-group difference in pain intensity favoring music was also observed at follow-up. Other analgesic and secondary outcomes showed no significant between-group differences, although exploratory within-group improvements in mood and health-related quality of life were observed with music. Both groups reported overall improvement in global perceived change, with ratings numerically favoring music. No intervention-related harms were observed. These findings support an analgesic benefit of music beyond the structured listening experience shared with the active comparator. Daily self-administered music listening may represent a feasible, low-cost adjunct for chronic non-cancer pain in patients receiving long-term opioid therapy.
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BibTeX
@misc{garridopedrosa2026daily,
title = {{Daily personalized music listening versus audiobook listening for chronic non-cancer pain in patients on long-term opioid therapy: a randomized controlled trial}},
author = {J. Garrido-Pedrosa and M. F. Porto and A. Serrano-Afonso and R. Valenzuela and L. Zapata and M. F. Vidal and P. Luna-Diaz and E. Segura and X. Cerda-Company and S. Videla and A. Rodriguez-Fornells and J. Grau-Sanchez and V. Fernandez-Duenas},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.13.26365452},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.13.26365452v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Daily personalized music listening versus audiobook listening for chronic non-cancer pain in patients on long-term opioid therapy: a randomized controlled trial
AU - J. Garrido-Pedrosa
AU - M. F. Porto
AU - A. Serrano-Afonso
AU - R. Valenzuela
AU - L. Zapata
AU - M. F. Vidal
AU - P. Luna-Diaz
AU - E. Segura
AU - X. Cerda-Company
AU - S. Videla
AU - A. Rodriguez-Fornells
AU - J. Grau-Sanchez
AU - V. Fernandez-Duenas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.13.26365452
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.13.26365452v1
AB - Non-pharmacological adjuncts are needed for chronic non-cancer pain in patients receiving long-term opioid therapy. Music listening may reduce pain, but most previous trials have used passive controls, limiting attribution of effects specifically to music. In this open-label, parallel-group, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial, adults with chronic non-cancer pain receiving long-term opioid therapy were randomized 1:1 to four weeks of daily home-based music or audiobook listening. Analgesic outcomes included pain intensity, responder rates, quantity of pain relief, and multidimensional pain assessment; secondary outcomes included mood, quality of life, global impression of change, and safety. Of 70 participants entering the run-in period, 56 were randomized (28 per group). Adjusting for baseline pain intensity in a linear mixed-effects model, the between-group difference at end of treatment was -1.26 NRS points (95% CI -1.98 to -0.55; p<0.001; d=-0.70), favoring music. A [≥]30% pain-reduction criterion was met by 21.4% of participants in the music group and none in the audiobook group (p=0.023). An exploratory between-group difference in pain intensity favoring music was also observed at follow-up. Other analgesic and secondary outcomes showed no significant between-group differences, although exploratory within-group improvements in mood and health-related quality of life were observed with music. Both groups reported overall improvement in global perceived change, with ratings numerically favoring music. No intervention-related harms were observed. These findings support an analgesic benefit of music beyond the structured listening experience shared with the active comparator. Daily self-administered music listening may represent a feasible, low-cost adjunct for chronic non-cancer pain in patients receiving long-term opioid therapy.
ER -