Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialTrajectories of Terminally Ill Patients' Cardiovascular Response to Receptive Music Therapy in Palliative Care.
Relaxation interventions are frequently used to promote symptom relief in palliative care settings, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. ⋯ Higher levels of VM-HRV in the music therapy group highlight the importance of a therapeutic relationship for the effectiveness of relaxation interventions in end-of-life care settings. Music therapy caused significantly stronger reductions of vascular sympathetic tone and, therefore, may be indicated in the treatment of pain and stress-related symptoms in palliative care. Initial self-ratings of pain moderated patients' physiological response and need to be taken into account in clinical practice and future theory building.