Music therapy is well recognized as being effective for issues such as stress control. That said, many people don’t realize just how deeply it can impact mental, emotional and even physical health. It’s for this reason, among others, that researchers decided it was time to take a closer look at the way it could support a broader spectrum of treatment plans, including those for a very common skin condition.
Researchers Found Music Therapy Can Support Skin Condition Treatments
Anyone who has ever had eczema knows just how dry, itchy, and irritating it can be. While moisturizing, hydration, and even medication in some cases will make a notable difference, researchers have also found that music therapy can be measurably helpful. This is likely to be quite an appealing step for many eczema sufferers to take to help control their skin condition.
After all, eczema is a chronic condition. It can flare up at any time. While some triggers are difficult to spot, both lifestyle factors and mental health factors are known to play a role. If you’re feeling stressed, angry, depressed, anxious or have low self-esteem, you are at a higher risk of a flare-up. The kicker is that a flare-up will often lead to feelings of stress, anger, depression, anxiety or low self-esteem, which creates quite the unpleasant cycle.
Can a Playlist Treat Your Itchy Skin?
Clearly, the researchers didn’t attempt to use music therapy alone to treat eczema. Instead, they complemented conventional topical treatments to see if listening to the right tunes could help to make a difference in their effectiveness. They published their results in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.
What the researchers found was that the participants who received the additional music therapy intervention reported better reductions to their uncomfortable symptoms such as itching, when compared to the participants who received typical topical therapy alone.
It’s important to note that this was a small, early study and is hardly considered to be conclusive at this point. Moreover, as it was short-term, there is no way to know if extended benefits are possible. However, it does indicate that further study is warranted and shows that there is some potential for further easing symptoms without medication.
If you’re curious to try it yourself, there is likely little risk of harm in doing so. While it never hurts to talk to your doctor about any major changes you intend to make in your lifestyle, or if you’re looking for the best supplement for sleep, for instance, if you want to try to listen to some tunes for sheer enjoyment that might also help to ease your eczema symptoms, go for it.
Music therapy focuses on using sounds that will ease your emotional symptoms which could be contributing to your physical symptoms. Therefore, in this case, even if rage metal is your absolute favorite genre, it’s likely best to tuck those tracks away for a while. Instead, find songs that you find uplifting, soothing, happy, and positive overall. Choose songs that support a feeling of emotional wellbeing.
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