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This was posted on the BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk) on 17th March. It suggests that research is backing up the claim that hypnotherapy can be very effective in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). |
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Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist. Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10. He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy is effective for IBS sufferers, it is not widely used. This may be because doctors simply do not believe it works. Widely ignored Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gut problem which can cause abdominal pain, bloating, and sometimes diarrhoea or constipation. Dr Valori, of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, said the research evidence which shows that hypnotherapy could help sufferers of IBS was first published in the 1980s. He thinks it has been widely ignored because many doctors find it hard to believe that it does work, or to comprehend how it could work.
He began referring IBS patients for hypnotherapy in the early 1990s and has found it to be highly effective. “To be frank, I have never looked back,” he said. He audited the first 100 cases he referred for hypnotherapy and found that the symptoms stopped completely in four in ten cases with typical IBS. He says in a further five in 10 cases patients reported feeling more in control of their symptoms and were therefore much less troubled by them. “It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect,” he said. “It seems to work particularly well on younger female patients with typical symptoms, and those who have only had IBS for a relatively short time.” Powerful effect He believes that it could work partly by helping to relax patients. “Of the relaxation therapies available, hypnotherapy is the most powerful,” he said. He also says that IBS patients often face difficult situations in their lives, and hypnotherapy can help them respond to these stresses in a less harmful way. NHS guidelines allow doctors to refer IBS patients for hypnotherapy or other psychological therapies if medication is unsuccessful and the problem persists. Dr Valori thinks that if hypnotherapy were used more widely it could possibly save the NHS money while improving patient care. Dr Charlie Murray, Secretary of the British Gastroenterology Society, said: “There is no doubt that hypnotherapy is helpful for some patients, but it depends on the skill and experience of those practising it. “But the degree to which it is effective is not well defined. “I would support using it as one therapy, but it is no panacea.” |
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Posts Tagged ‘irritable bowel syndrome’
Hypnotherapy ‘can help’ irritable bowel syndrome
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect 
Children can 'imagine away' pain
Monday, October 12th, 2009This is from the BBC News website today, and makes interesting reading about what the human mind is possible of – especially for children.
Children can be taught to use their imagination to tackle frequent bouts of stomach pain, research shows.
A relaxation-type CD, asking children to imagine themselves in scenarios like floating on a cloud led to dramatic improvements in abdominal pain.
The US researchers said the technique worked particularly well in children as they have such fertile imaginations.
It has been estimated that frequent stomach pain with no identifiable cause affects up to one in five children.
The research, published in the journal Pediatrics, follows on from studies showing hypnosis is an effective treatment for a range of conditions known as functional abdominal pain, which includes things like irritable bowel syndrome.
In this study, the children had 20 minute sessions of “guided imagery” – a technique which prompts the subject to imagine things which will reduce their discomfort.
One example is letting a special shiny object melt into their hand and then placing their hand on their belly, spreading warmth and light from the hand inside the tummy to make a protective barrier inside that prevents anything from irritating the belly
The researchers, from the University of North Carolina and Duke University Medical Center, said a lack of therapists led them to the idea of using a CD to deliver the sessions.
In all 30 children aged between six and 15 years took part in the study – half of whom used the CDs daily for eight weeks and the rest of whom got normal treatment.
Among those who had used the CDs, 73.3% reported that their abdominal pain was reduced by half or more by the end of the treatment course compared with 26.7% in the standard care group.
In two-thirds of children the improvements were still apparent six months later.
Anxiety
It is not clear exactly how the technique works but studies have shown it is partly about reducing anxiety but there is also a direct effect on the pain response.
Some researchers think hypnosis-like techniques reduce “hypersensitivity” in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Study leader Dr Miranda van Tilburg said it was especially exciting that the children were able to use the technique on their own.
“Such self-administered treatment is, of course, very inexpensive and can be used in addition to other treatments, which potentially opens the door for easily enhancing treatment outcomes for a lot of children suffering from frequent stomach aches.
“Children are very good at using their imagination – when you use this in adults you have to overcome a barrier first.”
Professor David Candy, a consultant paediatric gastroenterologist at Western Sussex Hospitals, said his team had tried hypnosis in a small group of children with severe abdominal pain problems and had 100% success rate.
He added they are now keen to try the guided imagery technique to see if they can replicate the US findings.
“There is really a dearth of information on how to manage children with abdominal pain and it’s a very common problem which keeps children out of school.”