A music-with-movement exercise programme for community-dwelling older adults suffering from chronic pain: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

This was a pilot trial targeting 30 participants per group, and the groups were unequal (41 experimental, 30 control) because some control participants dropped out after randomization. Participants were community-dwelling older adults who could understand Cantonese, use a smartphone, access the internet and take part in exercise, and people with severe sensory deficits, serious disease, diagnosed mental disorder, recent surgery or drug addiction were excluded; results may not apply to nursing-home residents or more medically or functionally complex patients. The paper notes possible Hawthorne effect. The paper does not state that participants were blinded to allocation. No adjustment was made for multiple pairwise comparisons. The intervention bundled music, movement, exercise and pain education with home reminders, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.

Funding came from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences Faculty Collaborative Research Scheme with the Social and Welfare Department of Hong Kong. The supplied text includes no conflict-of-interest declaration.

Do not read the pain reduction as proof that music or movement alone works. Participants also received pain education, a logbook, WhatsApp reminders, and exercise including warm-up, breathing, strengthening, stretching, chair, balance, flexibility and transfer training; the study did not separate these components.