BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music on exercise tolerance and perceived symptoms during treadmill walking in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Nineteen patients with COPD recruited from a pulmonary rehabilitation program participated in treadmill walking sessions on three separate days. The first session consisted of a practice walk. The second and third walking sessions were 6-minute timed tests in which the subjects were asked to walk as fast as possible under two conditions: a control walk and a music walk. Subjective assessments of perceived dyspnea and effort were obtained during the walks by the modified Borg scale. RESULTS: Distances walked were 331m +/- 19 (SE) for the music walk and 321m +/- 21 (SE) for the control walk (p = 0.25). Within each condition, ratings of perceived exertion and dyspnea increased from minute 1 to minute 6 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There were no statistically significant differences observed between treatment conditions for distance walked, perceived dyspnea or ratings of perceived exertion. It should be noted that 60% of the subjects voluntarily commented that they enjoyed listening to music while they exercised.
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