|
|
|
|
Contact Us Today
For A Free Screening
323-845-9709
Results Happen Here!
|
|
Are you one of the millions of Americans partially or fully disabled by chronic pain and can't find adequate relief? Perhaps you are incapacitated by back pain? Or maybe you are one of the six Americans that suffers from painful arthritis.
Such pain can impair body functions, disturb sleep, lead to depression, put stress on relationships, and create personal misery. Quite simply, pain can destroy people's lives. And often even with medication there is no relief.
Why Hypnosis?
Maybe you have heard of an athlete that sustains an injury and continues playing. Only after the game or the competition are they aware of the intensity of the pain. How does this happen? This is the effect of the mind influencing the perception of pain. The mind was preoccupied with something else, and the pain was not perceived by the mind. When the distraction of the game or competition is gone, the mind then perceives the pain that was there all along. But when the mind is distracted, the perception of pain diminishes. With hypnosis we are able to distract the mind away from the pain. We can use hypnosis to focus on other perceptions and change the intensity of the feeling to decrease the discomfort.
Hypnosis is a multi-century, enduring modality in the management of pain problems. Hypnosis may not only relieve pain, but may also help to maintain the dignity and the well-being of the patient without dependence on large quantities of medication. Hypnosis is evidence-based, and often it provides relief without dependence on large quantities of medication.
"I now can sleep on my arthritic hip, which I haven't been able to for two years, and my knees and back don't ache as much." Georgia, Airline Ticket Agent
"I suffered from IBS for many years. While not completely debilitating as some forms can be, it caused me considerable distress and discomfort. Medication did not work. So I turned to hypnosis. This program worked."
Holly Phillips, Graphic Designer
"My arthritis (lower back and muscular) has subsided, I have less pain, and have been able to reduce pain medications." Maria, Insurance Account Representative
A Hypnosis Study And Perception of Pain
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies performed by the University of Iowa and the Technical University of Aachen, Germany, have shown that hypnotized subjects have a different pattern of brain activity in response to painful heat compared to when they weren't hypnotized and exposed to the same painful heat.
The fMRI showed hypnotized subjects processed the pain signal in the lower parts of the pain network of the brain the same as non-hypnotized subjects. But activity in the top level of the pain network, the primary sensory cortex,
was reduced in the hypnotized subjects. This would be the part of the brain pain network that is responsible for "feeling" or perceiving pain.
The study also showed increased activity in other brain structures of hypnotized subjects that may be part of an inhibition pathway that blocks the pain signal from reaching the higher cortical brain structures responsible for pain perception.
Proof Hypnosis Affects the Brain
Such imaging studies allow a greater understanding of what is happening in the brain when one experiences hypnosis. Sebastian Schulz-Stubner, M.D., first auther of the study, stated, "...it helps to dispel prejudice about hypnosis as a technique to manage pain because we can show an objective, measurable change in brain activity linked to a reduced perception of pain."
For more information on this study, go to uihealthcare.com or sciencedaily.com/releases for April 8, 2005.
Some Theories of Pain
It is now understood that pain is not just a simple cause-and-effect process, but rather a complex web of pain signals, chemical messengers, emotions, and thoughts involving several different pathways of pain. These signals can be either at lightening speed or slow and continuous. The problem is when these pathways continue to transmit the pain signal after the injury or cause has been healed or removed, such as amputation that is followed by phantom limb pain.
The theory is that either imprinting or conditioning for transmitting is stamped into the pain pathways, creating a memory of the pain that replaces the normal cell memory.
Also the pain is sometimes perceived as something other than pain, which sets up a faulty message between the brain and the pain. Now when the pain sends back the information to stop the pain to the injured area, it is the wrong message; so the injured area keeps sending the message, and a loop is formed which becomes chronic pain.
It was once thought that removing the injured area or cutting the nerve would stop the pain. However, there are many reports of finger amputations performed to stop the pain of RSD with no change in the pain. Phantom limb pain is another example where the injured tissue has been removed but the pain continues to exist. With hypnosis we can communicate with the brain to change the message loops. We can create new messages of normal cell memory to replace faulty messages of pain. We can communicate messages of healing to replace old pain signals that are no longer needed. We can work with the wisdom of the body to gain insight into any emotional contributors to the pain.
Hypnosis Is An Accepted Standard Complementary Therapy
In 2000 the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) adopted a new standard for managing pain that opened the door to complementary therapies. This standard became known as "The Fifth Vital Sign." Vital signs are taken seriously. When pain is assessed with the same degree of importance as other vital signs, it has a much better chance of being treated properly and the quality of patient care improves.
RI1.2 Section of the JCAHO Standards calls for patients to be involved in all aspects of their care and requires that they be provided with a statement of their rights. They are given information about pain and pain relief measures that are available which include a special emphasis on non-pharmacological methods of pain management. Because of these standards, many hospitals such as Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and the Mayo Clinic, along with freestanding pain management centers, provide complementary care as a part of their pain management programs. Hypnosis, acupuncture, massage, and biofeedback are the standards for these clinics.
Hypnosis As The Last Resort
People often turn to hypnosis in the treatment of pain as a last resort. They have tried all the other methods out there but still suffer. In desperation they turn to hypnosis, hoping for relief, even though they don't know much about it. Sometimes what they think hypnosis is even scares them (based on negative myths about hypnosis). But they are at the point where they will try anything. And often hypnosis IS the last resort because it works!
Call now to see if hypnosis will be your last resort!
|
