There are many documented cases where traditional medicine has not treated pain and where hypnotherapy has significantly or completely helped, leading to an increase in acceptance by many doctors in this important modality.
In the last two decades, the clinical research base supporting hypnotherapy as a treatment for pain has developed. Increasing evidence and knowledge suggests that hypnosis interventions consistently lead to significant pain reduction. The good news is that research has shown that medical hypnosis is helpful for both acute and chronic pain, according to the Pain Medicine Faculty.
Although hypnosis can be an effective treatment for a wide range of chronic pain conditions, it is important that anyone considering hypnosis for pain receives a formal diagnosis from a qualified physician. If you are considering hypnosis for your pain, you should definitely inform your doctor about it.
In a recent article in the Journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, Patterson presented a table on chronic pain that includes a controlled trial of randomised, double-blind studies on the effects of hypnosis on the treatment of a wide range of “chronic diseases,” including acute pain-related chronic fatigue syndromes, chronic inflammation and inflammation pain, and irritability – pain and cancer-related pain.
Pain treating hypnosis can be helpful when a patient has to undergo otherwise painful physical therapy due to an injury. Another advantage of hypnotherapy is that many chronic pain sufferers can easily learn the progressive relaxation techniques of self-hypnosis, so that they feel that they already have the tools to cope with pain.
High-quality scientific testing has been conducted and it has been shown that more than 75% of chronic pain patients in the US experience significant pain relief through hypnosis. To quantify the improvement in a patient’s pain, doctors classify their relief as the relief that occurs during a hypnosis session with a pain therapist and whether or not it extends to their daily lives.
In addition to the progressive relaxation techniques mentioned, there are many others available for the relief of pain. Contact me for more details if you want to learn more.
