Evaluation of the effect of music medicine application on menstrual symptoms

Aim: This research was conducted to determine the effect of music medicine practice in reducing the symptoms experienced by students during the menstrual period. Materials and Methods: The type of the research was conducted as a prospective, single blind randomized controlled quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test control group with students studying at Pamukkale University Faculty of Health Sciences. The data of the research were collected between February 2024 and October 2024. In this study, Personal Information Form, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Menstruation Symptom Scale (MSQ) were used as measurement tools. Simple randomization method was used to provide equal numbers of samples in the study and control groups. The research was completed with a total of 59 students, 28 in the experimental and 31 in the control groups. Music medicine was applied to the experimental group. No intervention was made to the control group. Data were analyzed using SPSS (24.0) package program. Data were evaluated by number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi square and t test, Mann Whitney U and two way ANOVA and correlation analysis. Results: Statistically significant decreases were found in the sub-dimensions of the MSQ and VAS scores in the experimental group (p<0.05). Significant decreases were observed especially in pain symptoms and general symptom scores. No significant difference was observed in the coping methods sub-dimension in short-term. In the second follow-up, the significant decrease in the VAS and general MSQ scores of the experimental group continued. In the control group, only a limited decrease was observed in the VAS scores, and no significant change was observed in the other dimensions. Group-time interaction analyses revealed that the experimental group showed a more significant improvement in symptoms over time compared to the control group (p<0.05). Correlation analyses showed moderate to high level positive relationships between the MSQ and VAS. Conclusion: It has been revealed that the application of music medicine can be effective on menstruation-related symptoms, especially pain. The findings suggest that music should be applied during menstruation as a non-pharmacological and easily applicable method.