Music and stories kids choose themselves lessen their pain after major surgery

Pediatric patients who listened to 30 minutes of songs by Taylor Swift , Rihanna and other singers of their choosing — or audio books — had a significant reduction in pain aft er major surgery, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.
The children, ages nine to 14, chose from a playlist of top music in different genres including pop, country, rock and classical. Short audio books were another option in the study.
A strategy to control post-surgical pain without medication is important because opioid analgesics — most commonly used to control post-surgical pain — can cause breathing problems in children. Thus, caregivers usually limit the amount of opiods prescribed, and children