Nurofen Teams up With Experts to Create Bespoke Music Track Shown to Reduce Pain Intensity

Scientific testing found reduction in levels of pain intensity and unpleasantness to be statistically and clinically significant

• For Pain Awareness Month, Nurofen's Tune Out Pain project harnessed the power of music to help manage acute pain with a new track released on Spotify (here)
• Psychology expert Dr Claire Howlin partnered with musician Anatole to create the All Of Us track, specially composed to have a positive effect on a listener when experiencing acute pain, in a first of its kind study
• The study helps further understanding of alternative ways to manage acute pain alongside other interventions
• Research for the campaign shows that the public are open to using music to manage pain, with 80% saying they would use music if it was proven to help tolerate acute pain[1] 
• A Tune Out Pain campaign film showing the creation of the track can be viewed here

SLOUGH, United Kingdom, Sept. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pain relief experts Nurofen have partnered with experts to create a bespoke music track that reduced pain intensity and pain unpleasantness in a statistically and clinically significant way when tested. The Tune Out Pain project brought together the worlds of science, pain and music in a study led by Dr Claire Howlin, Psychology Researcher, University College Dublin who partnered with music producer, Anatole, (aka Jonathan Baker) a conservatory-trained trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist to compose the track.

The track called All Of Us has today been released to the public on Nurofen's Tune Out Pain playlist on Spotify (here).

All Of Us was shown to reduce levels of pain intensity and unpleasantness in a way that was clinically and statistically significant. Participants with different types of acute pain such as headache, backache or period pain reported their levels of pain intensity decreasing while listening to the track during the study.

Anatole produced All Of Us based on scientific evidence provided by Dr Howlin including making the track as engaging, interesting and enjoyable as possible so people would not focus on their pain. This was achieved by applying instrumental and orchestral sounds, such as strings, pianos, bells, and minor vocal samples, to elicit a sense of wonder, empowerment and inspire mental strength to help dissociate from pain.

"Creating music that was driven by science was an exciting challenge for me as a music producer" commented Anatole. "All Of Us is special because every note, beat and sound is designed to create a particular effect on the listener, based on insights provided by Dr Howlin. Music and pain is something all of us experience – this project shows how powerful music is and the potential benefit to our wellbeing."

The Tune Out Pain study tested the specially designed and composed track among 286 active acute pain sufferers in an online experiment.

Dr Claire Howlin said of the study: "Music has the ability to give people a big burst of dopamine in their neural reward network. This track reduced both pain intensity and unpleasantness and to achieve an effect of this size for a completely unfamiliar track, really underscores the potential of creating specific pieces of music for pain management."

The full results of the Tune Out Pain study will be submitted to an academic journal for publication. The research is intended to help further scientific understanding of how holistic pain management techniques, such as listening to music, can help people with acute pain.

Additional research from Nurofen shows that only 15% of people identified music as a good way to better tolerate acute pain compared to other complimentary methods such as regular exercise (45%), a good night's sleep (43%) or breathing techniques (41%). However, 69% of respondents said they were interested in more holistic pain-relieving methods to use alongside over-the-counter medication. 71% of people also agree that music has a positive impact on their general wellbeing and 74% believe it has the ability to make them feel different emotions.¹

Sezi Unluturk, Category Manager at Nurofen UK said; "At Nurofen, we believe that pain should never hold you back in life.  That's why we are always searching for new ways to manage it. Tune Out Pain was developed to help further scientific knowledge of new holistic pain management techniques that can complement existing pain-relieving medications."

For more information about the Tune Out Pain project, please visit www.nurofentuneoutpain.co.uk  

Watch the Tune Out Pain campaign film here

For advice on pain relief, always speak to a GP or pharmacist.

RB Consumer Relations

Please contact via the Nurofen website:  https://www.nurofen.co.uk/

About the Tune Out Pain study

Nurofen supported the Tune Out Pain project to help improve knowledge and understanding of how music could play a role in acute pain and investigate if a specially designed and composed music track could help increase acute pain tolerance.

The study was led by Dr Claire Howlin, Psychology Researcher, University College Dublin who has dedicated her research to music listening interventions in pain contexts. The All Of Us track was produced by musician Anatole in partnership with Dr Howlin.

A total of 2,691 participants were screened to take part in the survey. Based on the responses to the screening survey 585 participants were invited to take part in the main study over a two-week period in August 2021 with a final sample of 286 participants. The track was tested among participants currently experiencing acute pains such as back pain, headache or period pain amongst others. The participants were given different versions and cuts of All Of Us to listen to at home and a questionnaire to record how the music made them feel during a pain event.

The study found that the main All Of Us track reduced feelings of pain intensity and unpleasantness in a clinically and statistically significant way. This effect size observed was in the upper range based on previously published meta-analysis which reported an effect size of (g = .23) across all music interventions for pain management.[2]

Other observations found that people with higher levels of musicality, or who paid attention to, or enjoyed the track benefitted more from listening to music.

The full study results will be published in an academic journal at a later date.

About All Of Us

To investigate if bespoke music could influence acute pain, Dr Claire Howlin developed a music brief for musician Anatole (aka Jonathan Baker), a conservatory-trained trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist to produce the All Of Us track. The brief included guidance on using/relying on musical attributes that help elicit a sense of 'wonder' to make people feel stronger, or more empowered which may help give people the mental strength to dissociate temporarily from pain.

The science-first approach was also applied to the All Of Us cover artwork which uses a design based on a particular methodology which reflects the components of the track. Formed of various dots representing notes in the score, pitch is indicated by the distance from the centre of the image, while the time at which the note occurs is given by the angle from the 12 o'clock position. The size of the dot indicates the duration of the note, and the colour of the dot is different for each instrument.

About Nurofen

Nurofen believe that everyone should be able to live life with less pain. This belief is central to our mission to help people better manage their pain, so that they can continue to do the things they love without discomfort. We strive to provide effective relief by understanding that pain is different for everyone.

Find out more on the Nurofen website: www.nurofen.co.uk

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYf85rZ6Iso

References

[1] Nurofen UK acute pain survey 2021

[2] Lee JH. The Effects of Music on Pain: A Meta-Analysis. J Music Ther. 2016 Winter;53(4):430-477. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thw012. Epub 2016 Oct 19. Erratum in: J Music Ther. 2021 Jul 21;: PMID: 27760797.