WHYY Circle of Care: Music and Pain Management

Paul Nolan, faculty in music therapy at Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy Program at the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions and music therapist at Hahnemann University Hospital, explains how patients use musical improvisation to communicate their experiences with pain, and sometimes lessen the perception of pain. Paul works with A. Bruce Gregory, Jr., a patient who suffers from severe pain caused by sickle cell anemia. Bruce has participated in music therapy as an inpatient in the hospital, and now uses music to manage his pain by always carrying a kalimba and playing it whenever possible.