Pain Solutions

By Connie Hambrock, PhD

Hambrock Holistic Healing Center

. http://hambrockholistichealing.net/

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Pain Solutions

Have you ever experienced a pain that didn't go away after a week or two? You start analyzing why it hurts, what you did to cause it, and then criticizing yourself for doing something stupid. Then after a month or two of being in pain you become concerned that it is something serious – because it isn't going away.

You decide to see a doctor. The doctor prescribes medication and physical therapy. In some cases, after three or more months of PT the pain hasn't gone away, so you go back to the doctor. The doctor doesn't have an automatic answer because there doesn't appear to be a clear answer to why you're in pain. Usually this will result in trying different approaches to see what works. You have now entered the realm of chronic pain.

Chronic pain is defined as pain that has lasted for six months or longer. The NIH studies indicate that over 45% of back pain sufferers in the United States suffer with chronic pain. Chronic pain not only effects you physically, it also effects you mentally. Both components are important.

When physical pain exists for any extended period of time there is a mental attitude created, whether it is one of anger, sadness, or resolve. According to an abstract drawn from 13 clinical studies on chronic pain conducted by the NIH, “Findings indicate that hypnosis interventions consistently produce significant decreases in pain associated with chronic-pain problems.” At the conclusion of these studies it was found that on average those who had participated for an average of five one-hour sessions and listened to recordings daily had a drop in pain by 50%. During longer clinical studies the pain was reduced by 72% with hypnosis and daily home study.

This is because with hypnosis, or hypnotherapy, the therapist is working with the critical voice that resides in the subconscious; the part of the mind that deals with fear and panic as well as the attitudes, disappointment and anger. All of these stressful emotions can slow down the healing process and contribute to increasing the pain being felt physically.

The NIH abstract goes on to say, “Hypnosis was generally found to be more effective than non-hypnotic interventions such as physical therapy, and education.” But the most effective pain management occurred when hypnosis was applied in conjunction with physical treatments such as massage therapy, physical therapy and chiropractic.

By combining modalities with hypnosis you can have the greatest possibility for healing and pain management. So, although you may not have been able to find the help you needed in the past, this doesn't mean that you are beyond help or hope now and in the future.