Effectiveness of music therapy in the psycho- social management of patients with spinal cord injury

Abstract

Music therapy helps in a wide range of pain conditions, primarily by its ability to improve mood, encourage relaxation and increase threshold. Therefore the study examined how effective music therapy is in the psychosocial management of patients with Spinal Cord Injury. The study was carried out among 120 registered members of the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Nigeria Rehabilitation Center located in Amuwo-Odofin in Lagos. The participants were purposively selected. Pre-test/post-test quasi  experimental research design was adopted for the study. The participants received music therapy  sessions in groups twice in a week for eight consecutive weeks. Goals included reducing pain, increasing mood and spiritual well-being, as well as improving their overall quality of life. Pain, physical well-being, social well-being, emotional well-being, mental well-being and spiritual well-being were assessed at the end of the 8th week. Five hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance, using One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Findings from the study established that music therapy significantly reduced the pain experienced by spinal cord injury patients. It was also established that music therapy significantly  enhanced physical, social, and spiritual well-beings of the spinal cord injury patients. However, music therapy did not significantly enhance the psychological well-being of the spinal cord injury patients; though the result was positive. The study recommended that medical social workers should incorporate music therapy into array of social services rendered to patients and relatives. Also, administrators of hospitals, hospices and rehabilitation homes should establish Music Units for the benefits of patients and relatives.

KEY TERMS: Effectiveness, music therapy, psycho-social management, patients, spinal Cord Injury, Nigeria