Listen
The story of American music is, like America itself, a story of re-invention.
Mozart in the O.R.
By Virginia Prescott on Monday, July 14, 2008.
listen:
The operating room of a hospital is a highly stressful place. Surgeons and assistants have to be extremely attentive, moving quickly but carefully. Playing music during surgeries has been shown to relax the staff and the patients. Some of the benefits that extend to the recovery room are lower heart rate, blood pressure and reduced need for pain medication.
Dr. Claudius Conrad, now a senior surgical resident at Harvard Medical School, suggests music can go even further. He’s published a paper suggesting that music can stimulate a 50 percent jump in pituitary growth hormone. The hormone is associated with stress but, paradoxically, can help exert healing. Dr. Conrad is also a classically-trained pianist with a doctorate in music theory.
Also, the study of music therapy has evolved in the United States for the past half a century, and there’s growing evidence that music is as good for the body as it is for the soul. We hear a story from Tanya Ott, news director at WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama.
(Photo by Sara Anderson)
Search us
Podcast
Word of Mouth is on the move! Sign up for our podcast and take the show wherever you go.
Contact us
Say what you want to say. How you want to say it. We want to hear from you.
About us
Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.
Support From
 | |
THE NEXT GREEN THING
is supported by
supporting environmental education
and awareness and committed
to responsible forestry
I could't agree more with this article. I've been promoting music in surgery for almost two decades but my position is that patient and surgeon need different music. Patient listens through headphones to slow, steady, instrumental music while surgery staff listens to more upbeat music or whatever help them to do their job best! See my blog also, www.surgery-with-music.blogspot.com.