It’s a story about finding the right key to unlock a new method of healing and recovery.
In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax took a trip to Loudoun County, Virginia, to find out more about a new technique in medicine: Music therapy.
Eight years ago, nurses at Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg were among the first in the state to study how music could help patients in their intensive care unit. These patients had all kinds of ailments from cancer to neurological disorders and beyond.
Hospital staff told Matt they were blown away by the results, and now they’re trying to spread the word about the potential benefits of music when it comes to the recovery process.
Whether it’s helping a Parkinson’s disease patient with their walking, or calming a cancer patient before undergoing radiation, nurses and therapists Matt spoke with said they now have data to back up just how well it can work.
Explore music therapy with Matt, as he hooked himself up to heart monitors to test out just how much of an effect music has on the body.
The findings from Inova Loudoun’s two music therapy studies — one in 2019, and another in 2023 — can be found here.
Right now, the music therapy mission at Inova Loudoun is philanthropically funded. If you want to donate, you can do so on Inova’s website.
If you’ve got an idea for a feature story Matt should cover, reach out via the WTOP “contact us” page to submit your idea.
You can also contact Matt directly. His contact information is listed below.
