Apr 06, 2009
Study looks at a promising new tool for controlling MS pain
The pounding, throbbing pain in Erin Musser’s legs used to reach an eight or nine on a scale of 10. Drugs didn’t help, because it was a phantom pain: MS was causing her brain to send the wrong signals.
These days, however, her discomfort is consistently on the low end of the scale. No pills. No shots. She’s using the most powerful pain-management tool of all: her mind.
For 15 to 20 minutes, once or twice a week, she goes into what she calls a “chill out”, using training she’s received in self-hypnosis and positive thinking.
“I get so relaxed,” Erin says. “After you understand how to do it, the pain flows away and the benefits last for several days.”
Erin was among 20 people with MS participating in a pilot study funded by the National MS Society that looked at the effectiveness of combining two different therapies – self-hypnosis and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – for managing pain in people with MS.
CBT uses logic to change people’s thinking. They are trained to recognize that negative thoughts like “I’m never going to feel better,” don’t make sense. Those self-defeating thoughts are replaced with thoughts that are positive and reassuring: “I can deal with it” or “I’m a good person.”
Self-hypnosis, which can be done at home with the aid of CDs, asks the patient to achieve a state of “focused awareness,” explains Dr. Mark Jensen, the study’s principal investigator. In this calm state, the individual receives suggestions to feel comfortable and relaxed, while shutting out stress, including pain.
It’s rather like having your headache go away while you’re absorbed in an interesting television program, Jensen says.
Those participating in the study received four training sessions each in CBT and self-hypnosis and then four sessions of training in a hybrid therapy that combines the two methods.
“If both CBT and self-hypnosis are effective in managing pain, is a combination of the two more effective than either one alone?” asks Jensen, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Researchers expect to complete their analysis of the study data this summer. If it proves promising, they will seek funding for further development, including training and clinical trials.
Unlike pain medications, the side effects of self-hypnosis combined with CBT are primarily positive, and almost everyone gets at least some benefit. Even those who don’t experience a substantial drop in pain still like it for its relaxation benefits, Jensen says.
“It’s a natural process,” he says. “Our experience is created by the brain from input, but that input can also be the imagination. We’re basically asking patients to imagine feeling comfortable and inviting their mind to leave that switch on.”