Have You Had Any Surgical Experiences That Involved Music?

Jan here (from the PWA team). Several years ago when I was planning to undergo the knife, I did lots of research on how to make surgery a successful experience. I learned that music can play a big role, before, during, and after. (Yes, you heard me right. Even during.)

I purchased a CD called "Relax With the Classics," and listened to it for several days beforehand. I brought it with my little CD player into pre-op, and made sure to tell the physicians to keep my earphones through the whole procedure! After getting back home, I set aside time every day to lay down and listen for a while.

What could have been a serious situation turned out completely fine. My parents marvelled at how calm I seemed during the entire ordeal. But all I knew was that when I was listening to music or playing the piano, my head had no room for worry.

Hospitals use music as therapy for a number of reasons:

• It helps lessen the need for pain medication.
• It elevates patients' moods and counteracts depression.
• It can counteract apprehension or fear, and helps to induce sleep.
• It helps relax muscle tension, and calms the autonomic nervous system.

So the next time you're walking through a hospital and hear some music, you'll know why!

Have you had any surgical experiences that involved Music?