Hypnosis is a scientifically proven and effective form of pain relief.
Hypnosis is likely to be effective for most people suffering from diverse forms of pain, with the possible exception of a minority of patients who are resistant to hypnotic interventions (American Psychological Association, July 2, 2004).
Hypnotherapy is used to promote relaxation and induce an altered state of consciousness. The resulting psychological shift is intended to help people gain control over their states of awareness, which theoretically can help them gain control over their physical body, including their pain symptoms.
Neuro-hypnotherapy is a viable option for patients suffering from chronic pain, who, once trained in self-hypnosis, may employ these techniques to do pain mangement anytime they need it. Welcome to contact us for more info.
Scientific Proof & Research Studies:
Meta-Analyses
Meta-analyses are essentially studies of studies. Where individual studies can sometimes show contradictory results, meta-analyses can be used to assess the performance of a treatment over a number of studies - this takes advantage of a larger sample size and hopefully leads to a more reliable result.
Montgomery, David, Winkel, Siverstein & Bovbjerg (2002)
This meta-analysis examined the results of 20 published controlled studies examining the use of hypnosis as an adjunct with surgical patients. In these studies hypnosis was typically administered to patients in the form of a relaxing induction phase followed by suggestions for the control of side effect profiles (e.g. pain, nausea, distress). Only studies in which patients were randomised to either a hypnosis or control group (no-treatment, routine care, or attention control group) were included. The results revealed that patients in the hypnosis treatment groups had better outcomes than 89% of the patients in the control groups. It was found that adjunctive hypnosis helped the majority of patients reduce adverse consequences of surgical interventions.
A Meta-Analysis of Hypnosis for Chronic Pain Problems: A Comparison Between Hypnosis, Standard Care, and Other Psychological Interventions
Hypnosis is regarded as an effective treatment for psychological and physical ailments. However, its efficacy as a strategy for managing chronic pain has not been assessed through meta-analytical methods. The objective of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of hypnosis for managing chronic pain. When compared with standard care, hypnosis provided moderate treatment benefit. Hypnosis also showed a moderate superior effect as compared to other psychological interventions for a nonheadache group. The results suggest that hypnosis is efficacious for managing chronic pain. Given that large heterogeneity among the included studies was identified, the nature of hypnosis treatment is further discussed.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/iceh/2014/00000062/00000001/art00001?crawler=true
A meta-analysis of hypnotically induced analgesia: how effective is hypnosis?
Over the past two decades, hypnoanalgesia has been widely studied; however, no systematic attempts have been made to determine the average size of hypnoanalgesic effects or establish the generalizability of these effects from the laboratory to the clinic. This study examines the effectiveness of hypnosis in pain management, compares studies that evaluated hypnotic pain reduction in healthy volunteers vs. those using patient samples, compares hypnoanalgesic effects and participants' hypnotic suggestibility, and determines the effectiveness of hypnotic suggestion for pain relief relative to other nonhypnotic psychological interventions. Meta-analysis of 18 studies revealed a moderate to large hypnoanalgesic effect, supporting the efficacy of hypnotic techniques for pain management. The results also indicated that hypnotic suggestion was equally effective in reducing both clinical and experimental pain. The overall results suggest broader application of hypnoanalgesic techniques with pain patients.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10769981
Bell & Meadows (2013). "Efficacy of a brief relaxation training intervention for pediatric recurrent abdominal pain." Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 20(1): 81-92. Excerpt: "The intervention consisted of a single 1-hour session including psychoeducation and coaching of breathing retraining; the length, duration, and content of the intervention were designed with a goal of maximum portability to primary-care settings.... This brief intervention was successful in lessening abdominal pain... The intervention was also successful in decreasing some children's general somatic symptoms."
Birnie, et al. (2014). "Systematic review and meta-analysis of distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents." Journal of Pediatric Psychology 39(8): 783-808. Excerpt: "Findings showed strong support for distraction and hypnosis for reducing pain and distress from needle procedures. The quality of available evidence was low, however."
Birnie, et al. (2014). "Systematic review and meta-analysis of distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents." Journal of Pediatric Psychology 39(8): 783-808. Excerpt: "Findings showed strong support for distraction and hypnosis for reducing pain and distress from needle procedures. The quality of available evidence was low, however."
Donatone (2013). "Focused suggestion with somatic anchoring technique: Rapid self-hypnosis for pain management." American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 55(4): 325-342. Excerpt: "The focused suggestion with somatic anchoring technique has been used with various types of pain, including somatic pain (arthritis, post-injury pain from bone breaks, or muscle tears), visceral pain (related to irritable bowel disease), and neuropathic pain (related to multiple sclerosis). This technique combines cognitive restructuring and mindfulness meditation with indirect and direct suggestions during hypnosis.... Focused suggestion with somatic anchoring technique is used with both acute and chronic pain conditions when use of long-term medication has been relatively ineffective."
Flor, H. (2014). "Psychological pain interventions and neurophysiology: Implications for a mechanism-based approach." American Psychologist 69(2): 188-196. Excerpt: "A number of psychological pain treatments have been examined with respect to their effects on brain activity, ranging from cognitive- and operant behavioral interventions, meditation and hypnosis, to neuro- and biofeedback, discrimination training, imagery and mirror treatment, as well as virtual reality and placebo applications. These treatments affect both ascending and descending aspects of pain processing and act through brain mechanisms that involve sensorimotor areas as well as those involved in affective-motivational and cognitive-evaluative aspects. The analysis of neurophysiological changes related to effective psychological pain treatment can help to identify subgroups of patients with chronic pain who might profit from different interventions, can aid in predicting treatment outcome, and can assist in identifying responders and nonresponders, thus enhancing the efficacy and efficiency of psychological interventions."
Jensen, M. P. and D. R. Patterson (2014). "Hypnotic approaches for chronic pain management: Clinical implications of recent research findings." American Psychologist 69(2): 167-177. Excerpt: "Clinical trials show that hypnosis is effective for reducing chronic pain, although outcomes vary between individuals.... Neurophysiological studies reveal that hypnotic analgesia has clear effects on brain and spinal-cord functioning that differ as a function of the specific hypnotic suggestions made, providing further evidence for the specific effects of hypnosis."
Kong, et al. (2013). "Functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network predicts cognitive modulation of pain." Pain 154(3): 459-467. Excerpt: "The experience of pain can be significantly influenced by expectancy (predictive cues). This ability to modulate pain has the potential to affect therapeutic analgesia substantially and constitutes a foundation for nonpharmacological pain relief.... After cue conditioning, visual cues can significantly modulate subjective pain ratings. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results suggested that brain regions pertaining to the frontoparietal network (prefrontal and parietal cortex) and a pain/emotion modulatory region (rostral anterior cingulate cortex) are involved in cue modulation during both pain anticipation and administration stage. Most interestingly...pretest resting state functional connectivity between the frontoparietal network (as identified by independent component analysis) and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex was positively associated with cue effects on pain rating changes."
Trost & Parsons (2014). "Beyond distraction: Virtual reality graded exposure therapy as treatment for pain-related fear and disability in chronic pain." Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research 19(2): 106-126. Excerpt: "In addition to mitigating costs associated with traditional exposure protocols, the VRGET platform facilitates patient treatment engagement, provides real-time assessment of valuable outcome variables such as affective response and kinematic adaptation, and promotes generalizability of treatment gains across clinical and home environments." Ussher, M., et al. (2014). "Immediate effects of a brief mindfulness-based body scan on patients with chronic pain." Journal of Behavioral Medicine 37(1): 127-134. Excerpt: "These data suggest that, in a clinic setting, a brief body scan has immediate benefits for those experiencing chronic pain."
Valentini, et al. (2013). "Hypnotic modulation of pain perception and of brain activity triggered by nociceptive laser stimuli." Cortex: A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior 49(2): 446-462. Excerpt: "Hypnotic suggestions exerted a top−down modulatory effect on both evoked and induced-cortical brain responses triggered by selective nociceptive laser inputs. Furthermore, correlation analyses indicated that gamma power modulation and suggestions of hyperalgesia may reflect the process of allocating control resources to salient and threatening sensory-affective dimensions of pain."
Flor, H. (2014). "Psychological pain interventions and neurophysiology: Implications for a mechanism-based approach." American Psychologist 69(2): 188-196. Excerpt: "A number of psychological pain treatments have been examined with respect to their effects on brain activity, ranging from cognitive- and operant behavioral interventions, meditation and hypnosis, to neuro- and biofeedback, discrimination training, imagery and mirror treatment, as well as virtual reality and placebo applications. These treatments affect both ascending and descending aspects of pain processing and act through brain mechanisms that involve sensorimotor areas as well as those involved in affective-motivational and cognitive-evaluative aspects. The analysis of neurophysiological changes related to effective psychological pain treatment can help to identify subgroups of patients with chronic pain who might profit from different interventions, can aid in predicting treatment outcome, and can assist in identifying responders and nonresponders, thus enhancing the efficacy and efficiency of psychological interventions."
Jensen, M. P. and D. R. Patterson (2014). "Hypnotic approaches for chronic pain management: Clinical implications of recent research findings." American Psychologist 69(2): 167-177. Excerpt: "Clinical trials show that hypnosis is effective for reducing chronic pain, although outcomes vary between individuals.... Neurophysiological studies reveal that hypnotic analgesia has clear effects on brain and spinal-cord functioning that differ as a function of the specific hypnotic suggestions made, providing further evidence for the specific effects of hypnosis."
Kong, et al. (2013). "Functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network predicts cognitive modulation of pain." Pain 154(3): 459-467. Excerpt: "The experience of pain can be significantly influenced by expectancy (predictive cues). This ability to modulate pain has the potential to affect therapeutic analgesia substantially and constitutes a foundation for nonpharmacological pain relief.... After cue conditioning, visual cues can significantly modulate subjective pain ratings. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results suggested that brain regions pertaining to the frontoparietal network (prefrontal and parietal cortex) and a pain/emotion modulatory region (rostral anterior cingulate cortex) are involved in cue modulation during both pain anticipation and administration stage. Most interestingly...pretest resting state functional connectivity between the frontoparietal network (as identified by independent component analysis) and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex was positively associated with cue effects on pain rating changes."
Trost & Parsons (2014). "Beyond distraction: Virtual reality graded exposure therapy as treatment for pain-related fear and disability in chronic pain." Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research 19(2): 106-126. Excerpt: "In addition to mitigating costs associated with traditional exposure protocols, the VRGET platform facilitates patient treatment engagement, provides real-time assessment of valuable outcome variables such as affective response and kinematic adaptation, and promotes generalizability of treatment gains across clinical and home environments." Ussher, M., et al. (2014). "Immediate effects of a brief mindfulness-based body scan on patients with chronic pain." Journal of Behavioral Medicine 37(1): 127-134. Excerpt: "These data suggest that, in a clinic setting, a brief body scan has immediate benefits for those experiencing chronic pain."
Valentini, et al. (2013). "Hypnotic modulation of pain perception and of brain activity triggered by nociceptive laser stimuli." Cortex: A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior 49(2): 446-462. Excerpt: "Hypnotic suggestions exerted a top−down modulatory effect on both evoked and induced-cortical brain responses triggered by selective nociceptive laser inputs. Furthermore, correlation analyses indicated that gamma power modulation and suggestions of hyperalgesia may reflect the process of allocating control resources to salient and threatening sensory-affective dimensions of pain."
Source:
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