The Effect of Music on Endurance Running:

Headphones verses Background Music

Laura Mister, ATS

Melissa Davis, LATC
Brianne Kilbourne, EdD, ATC, PES
Josh Bullock, M.A., RSCC*D, CSCS*D USAW
Joseph Vess, Ampersand Center Rep.

04/19/2017
 Table of Contents
CLINICAL SCENARIO .............................................................................................................................................. 2
FOCUSED CLINICAL QUESTION: ............................................................................................................................................ 2
KEYWORDS:.............................................................................................................................................................................. 2
SUMMARY OF SEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 2
SEARCH STRATEGY: ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
SOURCES OF EVIDENCE SEARCHED: ..................................................................................................................................... 3
BEST EVIDENCE REVIEWED: ................................................................................................................................................. 3
CLINICAL BOTTOM LINE ...................................................................................................................................... 3
IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE ............................................................................................................................. 4
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH .................................................................................................................. 4
REFERENCES: ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

1
CLINICAL SCENARIO
I have observed that people at the gym always seem to have headphones on when they do
cardio. I have noticed this for year, but I never brought music to listen to myself. I typically
ran until I couldnt tolerate the burn in my legs, which for me was usually about 10-15
minutes. I thought it was because I was out of shape that I couldnt run for a long time and
over time I would be able to run longer. Near the begging of the spring semester I made a
commitment to my health and decided to hit the gym after years of not going or doing
exercise of any kind. The first day I went I ran for about 10 minutes like I expected. I was
running next to a girl who was there before me. By the time I had finished she had been
running for just under 30 minutes. Once again I noticed she was wearing headphones and
listening to music. This girl was also not much more fit than I was, so there must have been
something about listening to music while running that I was missing out on. There is
almost always music playing in the background of the gym, but that evidently was as good
as listening to music with headphones. The next time I went to the gym I brought my
headphones and music. That day I ran for 45 minutes straight. That is something I have
never done in my entire life and I know there is no way I could have increased my
endurance that much after one 10minute run two days before. This sparked the inspiration
for my clinical question.

Development of Clinical Question:

After my observation and personal experience with running with music, I began to
question why this happens. My first instinct is that the music is a distraction from the pain
in the body. This led me to believe there must be a difference in running with head phone
and background music. I believe the difference is the volume and the ability to eliminate
other distractions like other people panting or people grunting and slamming weights.

Focused Clinical Question:

Do athletes have more endurance running when listening to music with headphones or
background music?

Keywords:
Endurance
Running performance
Running
Music
Attentional distraction

SUMMARY OF SEARCH METHODOLOGY

My method to answering my question is reviewing existing academic articles to determine
the best answer. I chose to review articles if they had information regarding endurance
running, and if there was music involved in the intervention.

Search Strategy:
Patient: Athletes

2
Intervention: Listening to music
Comparison: Headphones Vs. Background music
Outcome: More endurance

Sources of Evidence Searched:

EBSCOhost

Best Evidence Reviewed:

Attentional Distraction During Exercise in Overweight and Normal-weight Boys
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of attentional distraction on field
running distance in normal-weight and overweight boys and to investigate potential
mediators. 53 12-14 boys participated in a 12-minute running test, once with attentional
distraction (headphones with their favorite music.) and one without distraction. At the end
of the test, distance was recorded. Both overweight and normal weight boys ran farther
during the running test with music, this effect was mediated by decreased in feelings of
annoyance. They conclude that attentional distraction has a positive effect on running
distance on a field endurance test in overweight and normal-weight boys.

Effects of Distraction on Treadmill Running Time in Severely Obese Children and

Adolescents
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of attentional distraction on running
time in an incremental treadmill test in obese children. They also investigated whether
distraction works at the same extent at the beginning and end of a residential treatment. 30
severely obese children (10 boys 20 girls, age range 9-17) in a 10-month residential
treatment facility performed a treadmill test until exhaustion in four sessions. They did 2
test at the beginning of their 10-month treatment, and 2 tests at the end of their 10-month
treatment; one with music, one without music. They found the children ran longer in the
condition with music (music was played through a loud speaker). The distraction effect
seemed to be larger at the beginning of treatment compared to at the end of treatment. The
children also reported it took longer to perceive bodily sensations when listening to music
which would ultimately lead to them stopping the test. They conclude attentional
distraction to have a positive effect on perseverance.

CLINICAL BOTTOM LINE

Of the studies reviewed, it is still unclear whether or not endurance is increased by either
listening to music with headphones or with background music. The two studies reviewed
were written by the same people, but at different times. Deforche and Bourdeaudhuij wrote
a continuation of their initial study, however they sought out different variables which
makes it difficult to compare each study together. A definite conclusion read across
multiple sources and studies is that music does have an effect on the perception of bodily
sensations. Bodily sensation is classified as pressure on chest, suffocating feeling, pounding
heart, dizziness, knee pain, side stiches, etc. Of these studies it is certain that music can
increase distance, and duration of running in obese children; additionally, children will
report lowered perception of bodily sensation, and decreased level of annoyance.

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Implications for Clinical Practice
While the question remains unanswered, there is still a value in attentional distraction
which can be beneficial in many ways. It could be beneficial when preparing an ACL tear
patient to return to play. As the studies demonstrated, there is a decrease in perception of
bodily sensation, knee pain being one of them. If we were to play music for the patient
while they begin running, they may perceive less pain which will help them accomplish the
task at hand. In other prevalent research it is demonstrated that injured athletes are more
likely to become depressed because they believe they are not able to do what they could do
before the injury. Having them listen to music while they run will help them accomplish the
task and enforce that they are able to do a lot of activity even though they are injured.
Attentional distraction can also be beneficial in training of overweight athletes. Similarly, to
the ACL patient, they will focus less on the pain they are feeling and will be able to do
activity for a longer amount of time. In the attentional distraction during exercise study,
they explain the importance of increasing duration of work out verses the intensity. Obese
people find it difficult and painful to exert a lot of energy for extended periods of time. This
ultimately discourages them from continuing to work out. A way to overcome this is to
simply have more low intensity activities for a longer period of time. The assistance of
music will be more beneficial for the person near the end of the long, low intensity activity
when they start to feel bodily sensations again.

Recommendations for Future Research

There is no research on a comparison of headphones verses background music. After doing
this research it may be irrelevant since both methods of listening to music had effects on
the patents in these studies. Even if the results had no significant difference I would still
prefer that information over no information because then it wouldnt matter for the
method when treating a patient. Additionally, more information needs to be conducted on
athletes. Both of the studies focused on obese children, so it may not be conclusive to apply
attentional distraction to athletes. Once again, it could have no effect, but having the proof
that it doesnt would be better than having to assume or not knowing at all.

REFERENCES:
De Bourdeaudhuij I, Crombez G, Deforche B, Vinaimont F, Debode P, Bouckaert J.
Effects of distraction on treadmill running time in severely obese children and
adolescents. International Journal of Obesity. 2002;26(8):1023-1029. doi:
10.1038/sj.ijo.0802052.

Deforche B, De Bourdeaudhuij I. Attentional Distraction During Exercise in Overweight

and Normal Weight Boys. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public
Health. 2015; 12:3077-3090. doi: 10.3390