Hypnosis Pain Control
Hypnosis may provide new option for ‘awake surgery’ for brain cancer
Hypnosedation for Brain Surgery – Press release by Wolters Kluwer Health
December 28, 2015 – Could hypnosis help to reduce the psychological trauma associated with “awake craniotomy” for brain cancers? A new “hypnosedation” technique offers a new alternative for patients undergoing awake surgery for gliomas, suggests a study in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, published by Wolters Kluwer.
Initial evaluation shows a high rate of successful hypnosis in patients undergoing “awake craniotomy” for brain cancer (glioma), report Dr. Ilyess Zemmoura of Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tours, France, and colleagues. They believe that hypnosedation might be especially valuable in patients with more advanced brain cancers.
Hypnosis Provides Sedation and Relaxation during ‘Awake’ Brain Surgery
Dr. Zemmoura and colleagues evaluated their hypnosis technique in 37 patients undergoing awake craniotomy, mainly for low-grade gliomas, between 2011 and 2015. In awake craniotomy, the patient is sedated but conscious so as to be able to communicate during the operation. This helps the surgeon navigate safely to the tumor without damaging the “eloquent cortex”–critical areas of the brain involved in language or movement.
Preparation for hypnosis began a few weeks before surgery. The anesthesiologist/hypnotist met with the patient to carry out a short hypnosis session and teach the patient how to create a “safe place”–an imaginary place where they can feel safe and effective.
In the operating room, patients were placed in a hypnotic trance; for example, they were instructed to “let go” and to “separate the mind and body.” The hypnotic experience was progressively enhanced during the first steps of surgery, including specific instructions and imagery for each potentially unpleasant or painful step of the surgery. (The online version of the article includes a detailed description and video of the hypnosedation procedure.)
The 37 patients underwent a total of 43 surgeries with hypnosedation (including repeat surgeries in patients with recurrent gliomas). Hypnosis failed in six patients, who underwent standard “asleep-awake-asleep” anesthesia. Another two patients decided not to undergo hypnosis.
When successful, hypnosis was a reliable and reproducible method for awake surgery, with questionnaire assessments showing little or no negative psychological impact. Rather than any measure of individual “hypnotizability,” the success of hypnosis seemed to be most strongly related to the patients’ motivation and determination.
Hypnosedation seemed to reduce the impact of unpleasant events during surgery. Some patients reported high stress levels, but this did not appear to affect their subjective experience of hypnosis. The one patient who showed signs of posttraumatic stress disorder after surgery had a particularly good experience with hypnosis.
For patients, the most unpleasant parts of surgery were steps involving noise and vibration. Pain seemed to decrease as the level of hypnosis deepened. Only two patients said they would not choose to undergo hypnosedation if they had to undergo a second awake craniotomy.
An important advantage of hypnosedation is that it allows the patient to remain awake throughout surgery. This avoids the need to awaken the patient in the middle of standard “asleep-awake-asleep” anesthesia–which can be especially challenging in patients with high-grade gliomas. The authors note that their experience included successful hypnosedation in two patients with high-grade gliomas.
While the initial evaluation is encouraging, Dr. Zemmoura and colleagues note that it provides no evidence that hypnosedation is superior to standard anesthesia. They also emphasize the considerable investment of time and commitment needed to prepare for and carry out their hypnosis technique: “It requires intense involvement and long training of the whole team, including the patient.”
Click here to read “Hypnosis for Awake Surgery of Low-grade Gliomas: Description of the Method and Psychological Assessment.”
Article: “Hypnosis for Awake Surgery of Low-grade Gliomas: Description of the Method and Psychological Assessment” (doi: 10.1227/NEU.0000000000000993)
Self-hypnosis during Childbirth – UCLan leads largest randomised controlled UK trial
Self-hypnosis During Childbirth Report
A recent report was released by UCLan lecturer, Soo Downes, which reveals findings from a three year study showing the effectiveness of self-hypnosis for women during childbirth.
A three-year NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) funded study into the effectiveness of self-hypnosis during childbirth has found that, while the therapy only made a minor difference to the number of women requesting pain relief during labour, it did have a significant impact on the women’s levels of postnatal anxiety and fear about childbirth.
Self-hypnosis came under the spotlight in 2013 when it was reported that the Duchess of Cambridge was allegedly considering the use of hypnobirthing to ease pain during childbirth. With the arrival of another Royal baby last week the study findings are certainly timely.
Published today in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the trial, led by international childbirth expert Professor Soo Downe from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and sponsored by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, involved 680 first-time mums from three hospitals in the North West. It was the largest randomised controlled trial on self-hypnosis for labour undertaken in the UK to date, and the second largest in the world.
“Adding prenatal self-hypnosis training to usual care in a UK setting does not seem to affect rates of epidural pain relief. However, the results do suggest that the therapy might reduce postnatal anxiety and fear about childbirth.”
The findings show that of the women who were randomised to self-hypnosis during pregnancy, 27.9% requested an epidural in comparison to 30.3% of the women in the control group. When asked two weeks after birth, women in the self-hypnosis group had a greater reduction in anxiety and fear about childbirth than women in the usual care group. Interviews were also done with some of the women and birth companions in the hypnosis group.
The participants in the hypnosis group were invited to two 90 minute group self-hypnosis sessions at 32 and 35 weeks of pregnancy, as well as having a CD to listen to daily. They, and their birth companions, were sent questionnaires at two and six weeks after giving birth. Both the hypnosis and the usual care groups received the usual NHS care, including antenatal clinic attendances and screenings. On average, the two sessions and the CD cost £4.83 per woman.
Professor Downe commented: “Adding prenatal self-hypnosis training to usual care in a UK setting does not seem to affect rates of epidural pain relief. However, the results do suggest that the therapy might reduce postnatal anxiety and fear about childbirth, which would suggest there may be benefits for their next pregnancy. All those who agreed to be interviewed found the hypnosis helpful, both in labour and in other areas of their lives. The main issue they reported was that (even though overall there was little difference in use of pain medication) some women appeared to be so relaxed that maternity care staff did not realise they were in labour, and sent them home.”
“I would highly recommend this technique to women as I had big babies and with the help of the hypnobirthing was relaxed and in control. I used gas and air with one labour and nothing with my second.”
One of the participants, who has since gone onto have another baby and practised self-hypnosis during both pregnancies, commented: “Hypnotherapy is something that I had never considered before. I have an anxious personality and friends had suggested that it might be something that I could try, particularly during labour. The hypnobirthing script provided during the trial was easy to listen to and during the latter stage of my pregnancy I practiced it twice a day. I think that this was the key to it being successful during my labours. I would highly recommend this technique to women as I had big babies and with the help of the hypnobirthing was relaxed and in control. I used gas and air with one labour and nothing with my second.”
Maria Williamson, a Midwife at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust who took part in the study, said: “Women and their families engaged so well with the sessions, you could see their confidence grow. Their ability to remain calm and relaxed enabled them to have a positive birth experience. For me as a midwife, to see a family begin is a privilege but to experience women and their birth companions leaving the sessions not terrified about giving birth, but actually feeling excited about meeting their babies, was truly amazing.”
Professor Downe added: “The results suggest that self-hypnosis poses no danger to participants, and that two group sessions in pregnancy along with a CD is very inexpensive. However, if self-hypnosis is offered to women, maternity care staff will need to be made aware of how relaxed some women can appear when they are using self-hypnosis, even if they are actually in strong labour.”
All of the women that took part were aged between early-20s and mid-30s. Most were White British and some were of South Asian origin. All had never given birth before and none were receiving treatment for high blood pressure or psychiatric illnesses.
The study, entitled Self-Hypnosis for Intrapartum Pain management (SHIP) in pregnant nulliparous women: a randomised controlled trial of clinical effectiveness, involved researchers from UCLan, University of Manchester, University of Nottingham, University of Liverpool, University of York, and Lancaster University alongside East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital.
The self-hypnosis during childbirth report, which was published this week in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found that spending less than £5 on a pregnant woman can make these differences. The study was sponsored by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, and involved 680 first-time mums from three hospitals in the North West.
It was the largest randomised controlled trial on self-hypnosis during childbirth in the UK to date, and the second largest in the world.
The self-hypnosis during childbirth report comes shortly after the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s second child, where the use of self-hypnosis was heavily contested for their first baby, George.
The study, entitled Self-Hypnosis for Intrapartum Pain management (SHIP) in pregnant nulliparous women: a randomised controlled trial of clinical effectiveness, involved researchers from UCLan, University of Manchester, University of Nottingham, University of Liverpool, University of York, and Lancaster University alongside East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital.
The self-hypnosis during childbirth report sources:
Self-hypnosis during Childbirth Cork Ireland with Martin Kiely Hypnosis Centre Tel: 021-4870870
Hypnotizing The Pain Away
This item on the use of hypnosis hypnotherapy for pain management appeared recently on CBS New York. The following is the video and article:
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — People have turned to hypnosis for help with everything from losing weight to quitting smoking.
Now, as CBS 2’s Maurice DuBois reported, hypnosis may also help relieve pain, including severe headaches and migraines.
“I expected abracadabra,” said Hedi White, a migraine sufferer.
But White said hypnosis is no trick, especially when it came to relieving her pain.
“It has really helped me,” she said.
White said she has tried just about every available treatment, but it’s through hypnosis that she learned to get control of her headaches at the onset, before they debilitate her.
“Do I experience the start of headaches? Yes.” she said. “Am I able to head them off? Yes.”
And she’s not alone.
“Hypnosis has helped many people,” said hypnotist Lisa Ludovici.
“In one session, I will teach them how powerful their mind is and how to lower their experience of pain,” she said.
Ludovici said hypnosis uses a guided relaxation and intense concentration to help a person’s attention become so focused that anything else that might be going on — including severe pain — is temporarily blocked out or ignored.
“The subconscious is open to positive suggestion and direction,” Ludovici said.
Dr. Dara Jamieson, director of the Headache Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said studies show hypnosis can be beneficial in managing headaches, but it’s not a proven cure.
“I think hypnosis does play a role for some patients in managing episodic migraine,” she said.
“If an individual realizes that they are beginning to have a migraine headache, then self-hypnosis, as well as other types of relaxation and calming behaviors, can be used to try and abort the pain, as well as lessen the impact of accompanying symptoms,” Jamieson added.
The National Institute of Health reviewed several studies on hypnosis, concluding that it’s effective with some chronic pain, including tension headaches.
“I say to the skeptics, ‘What do you have to lose?’” White said. “It’s definitely a tool that I found very helpful.”
Hypnosis pain control
Before considering hypnosis pain control or hypnosis pain management please note:
A hypnotist hypnotherapist may not provide a medical diagnosis or recommend discontinuance of medically prescribed treatments. Before beginning hypnosis or hypnotherapy, clients who are currently receiving any form of medical treatment and are taking prescribed medication, must obtain a written referral or acknowledgement from their primary care giver. Clients will be informed immediately if another professional or an alternative means of reaching their objectives would serve them better.
Martin Kiely Hypnosis Centre Cork will provide you with professional specialized hypnosis pain control or pain management services. Martin will teach you simple, effective and easy to use self-hypnosis exercises that many clients have successfully used to take back control over this area of their life.
http://martinkielyhypnosis.com/hypnosis-pain-control-pain-management/