Moving the patient out of the present with music and imagery can relieve pain, too. It's easier to sit there with a big bag of chemo drugs dripping into you that you know are toxic. It's uplifting and inspires me. It pushes me to move around after a cycle of chemo. Louise is a light in the chemo tunnel.
Skeptics say music therapy is a mere distraction technique.
But scientists cite the ''gate control'' theory of pain. Only a limited number of neural pathways can transmit pain impulses. Clog these pathways with music, and there will be fewer left to respond to pain. Some physiologists believe that focusing on music coaxes the body to release its own endorphins. These molecules provide a measure of built-in pain relief and are the same molecules that give runners their ''high'' after a race.