medical speak in english

Below is a list of alternative treatments that can be used to treat chronic pain and improve your life.  I will add articles for each treatment method each month.  Ask the medical expert what methods could help you to improve your symptoms and get your life back.

1. Acupuncture
2. Acupressure (includes shiatsu and reflexology—foot acupressure)
3. Applied kinesiology—muscle testing and balancing
4. Ayurveda—a system developed in India that uses pulse diagnosis and dietary approaches
5. Biofeedback
6. Diet
7. Exercise
8. Homeopathy
9. Hypnosis
10. Hypnotherapy
11. Manual manipulation by a doctor of osteophathy
12. Massage
13. Meditation
14. Music
15. Naturopathy
16. Spiritual healing (includes Reiki—spiritual healing by applying "life energy")
17. Tai Chi
18. Visualization
19. Yoga

What is hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is a technique that uses the hypnotic state, which enables changes in perception and memory, a major increase in response to suggestion, and the potential for controlling many physiologic functions that are usually involuntary (blood pressure, breathing, pulse rate).  Hypnotherapy uses guided relaxation, intense concentration, and focused attention to achieve a heightened state of awareness. The person’s attention is so focused on someones voice either in person or on a tape that while in this state anything going on around them is temporarily blocked out or ignored. In this naturally occurring state a person may focus his or her attention on specific thoughts or tasks.  I was given tapes and copies of scripts that only required someone with a soothing voice and a quiet place to put you into a relaxed state.

How does hypnotherapy work

Hypnotherapy is usually considered an aid to treatment rather than a treatment in itself. It helps because the hypnotic state, the relaxed states allows people to explore painful thoughts, feelings, and memories they might have hidden from their conscious minds. But more importantly, it teaches you how to relax and that can distract you from  pain, lower your stress, and blood pressure.  Hypnosis, or the relaxed state, enables people to perceive some things differently, such as blocking an awareness of pain.  However, I chose this technique because my wife and I employed this method during her pregnancy.  We were not hypnotized but rather we listed to a relaxing guided imagery story while focusing on our breathing.  This does not need to be done with a counselor, again just someone with a soothing voice. 

Hypnotherapy can be used in two ways

Suggestion therapy

The hypnotic state, the relaxed state, makes the person better able to respond to suggestions.  More importantly it teaches you how to relax. Hypnotherapy can help some people change certain behaviors, such as to stop smoking or stop nail-biting. It can also help people change perceptions and sensations, and is particularly useful in treating pain.  The latter of which is why my wife and I took the class in preparation for her delivery.  During our sessions before delivery we would relax while music was played and a script (guided imagery of relaxing places) was read by the instructor.  It was very relaxing, and often times people would fall asleep in the class.  If a patient is more relaxed, they can deal with their pain much better.  To this day, I continue to use this technique for my patients while I perform their injections

Analysis

This approach uses the relaxed state to find the root cause of a disorder or symptom, such as a traumatic past event that a person has hidden in his or her unconscious memory. Once the trauma is revealed, it can be addressed in psychotherapy.  I included this section to be thorough but as I mentioned earlier I employ the guided imagery technique and that is the more beneficial of the two methods in my opinion, and only requires someone with a soothing voice.

What are the benefits of hypnotherapy

The hypnotic state, the relaxed state, allows a person to be more open to discussion and suggestion.  But again, you are not hypnotized but rather put into a relaxed state.  It can improve the success of other treatments for many conditions such as phobias, fears, anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, stress, post-trauma anxiety, grief and loss.  Hypnotherapy accomplishes this but putting you into a relaxed state through the use of relaxation techniques read by a live person or listening to a tape.  Because hypnotherapy can put you in a relaxed state and distract you from pain, it can be employed as a means to deal with chronic pain.  When someone is more relaxed, their anxiety can be lessened, their blood pressure lowered, and they can have an increased sense of well being.

What are the drawbacks of hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy might not be appropriate for a person who has psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, or for someone who is using drugs or alcohol. It should be used for pain control only after a doctor has evaluated the person for any physical disorder that might require medical or surgical treatment.