Clinical Observation on Acupuncture Combined with Five-Element Music Therapy for Postoperative Pain and Anxiety in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract

Objective

To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with five-element music therapy on postoperative pain and anxiety in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

Methods

A total of 102 patients who underwent surgery for LDH between January 2023 and December 2025 were enrolled in this prospective randomized controlled trial. They were randomly assigned to either a control group (n = 51) or an observation group (n = 51). Both groups received conventional postoperative rehabilitation and acupuncture (once daily, five times per week for 2 weeks). The observation group additionally received five-element music therapy (30 min daily for 2 weeks). Pain intensity was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS), anxiety level using the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and lumbar function using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) at baseline (T0), end of treatment (T1), and 1-month follow-up (T2).

Results

At baseline, there were no significant differences between groups in demographic or clinical characteristics (P > 0.05). At T1 and T2, the observation group showed significantly lower VAS and SAS scores and better ODI scores compared to those of the control group (all P < 0.05). The efficacy rate (ODI improvement ≥30%) was 90.2% in the observation group versus 68.6% in the control group (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Acupuncture combined with five-element music therapy can effectively reduce postoperative pain and anxiety, and improve functional recovery in LDH patients. The combination therapy is superior to acupuncture alone.