The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Benefits of music on stress after surgery

    Researchers at Orebro University Hospital, in Sweden, evaluated the effect of bed rest + music on the first day after surgery in order to decrease stress.

    First, the details.

    • 58 patients who underwent open coronary artery bypass grafting or aortic valve replacement surgery were studied.
    • Stress response was assessed by measuring the following parameters.
      • Cortisol blood levels
      • Heart and respiratory rate
      • Blood pressure
      • Arterial oxygen tension (PaO2, amount of oxygen in the arterial blood)
      • Arterial oxygen saturation (below 90% causes hypoxemia)
      • Subjective pain and anxiety levels.
    • At noon on day 1 after surgery, patients were assigned to a treatment group.
      • 30 minutes of uninterrupted bed rest + music and then 30 minutes of bed rest
      • 60 minutes of uninterrupted bed rest.
    • The music was soft and relaxing, included different melodies in new-age style, played with a volume at 50 to 60 dB, and distributed through a music pillow connected to an MP3 player.

    And, the results.

    • After 30 minutes of bed rest, there were significantly lower cortisol levels in the bed rest + music group vs the bed rest only group.
    • However, this difference in cortisol levels was short-lived and not present 30 minutes later.
    • There was no difference in the other parameters.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “There is sufficient practical evidence of stress reduction to suggest that a proposed regimen of listening to music while resting in bed after open heart surgery be put into clinical use.”

    The study is important because it documents a well-defined, short-lived response to music under well-defined circumstances — during the first day after heart surgery

    The results also support an earlier study summarized here.

    9/30/10 20:30 JR

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