Hypnotherapy has an excellent track record for pain control, including surgery. In fact, before anesthesia, it was either hypnosis or a big bottle of something 70 proof and chewing on a really big stick. But for a variety of reasons, few people are keen to try it as a way to control pain. However, science has devised molecular tests to determine how effective hypnotherapy pain relief is.
Some people are more susceptible to hypnosis than others, but it can be difficult to know who is more susceptible to hypnosis and who is more susceptible to hypnosis. For now, the test requires special training. In a study published in Molecular Diagnostic JournalResearchers have developed an ultra-fast point-of-care molecular diagnostic test that can identify people most likely to benefit from hypnosis as part of a pain treatment plan.1
The science behind the test
This study involved inexpensive genotyping of four single nucleotide polymorphisms in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene using a giant magnetoresistive biosensor.
Previous research had already established that the genetic basis of hypnotism involves four specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPS), or genetic variations, found in the COMT gene.
“Because hypnotizability is a stable cognitive trait with a genetic basis, our goal is to determine ‘treatability’ at the point of care to determine which individuals will benefit from hypnosis.” The idea was to create a molecular diagnostic tool to objectively identify it,” said co-leader Dana. He recently received his Ph.D. L. Cortade from the Stanford University School of Engineering.
According to this study, in people with the proposed COMT genotype, 89.5 percent scored high on the Hypnosis Inducibility Profile (an assessment of a person’s trait’s level of hypnotizability and likelihood of experiencing a hypnotic state). Did.
This molecular test definitely lends itself to more traditional hypnosis techniques, such as imagining your hands stuck together and unable to separate, or pretending to suck on a lemon to see how watery your mouth becomes. I will win.
Additionally, this study also found that some of these highly hypnotizable participants may be susceptible to higher levels of postoperative pain. But that’s okay because hypnotherapy can help there too.
pain control
I spent 10 years in a National Health Services Trust hospital helping people manage the pain (and associated emotional and behavioral problems) caused by a condition known as Cardiac Syndrome X (CSX). It is often described as chest pain in the absence of coronary artery abnormalities. CSX can be a debilitating symptom for some people. As a result, pain control through hypnotherapy became a specialty for me. It helps recover from all types of pain, including tension headaches, migraines, fibromyalgia, and even cancer treatment.
Another recent study (too recent to be published yet) found that hypnosis can help breast cancer patients cope better with surgery and subsequent recovery. Other studies have shown that people who score high on resilience and optimism have better recovery experiences than those who don’t. So this study used hypnotherapy to enhance both.
Professor Silje Endresen Leme from the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo said: “Studies have well established that hypnotherapy before surgery can reduce pain.” “We’re also trying to influence psychological resilience. Telling the brain that everything will be fine during surgery could be a kind of antidote to catastrophic thinking.”
But hypnotherapy for surgery has been used in some form since at least the 1800s. The famous Scottish surgeon James Braid (1795-1860) pioneered this protocol.
These days, most people are hesitant to utilize it as a safe pain management method for all kinds of conditions, including before and after surgery, as many misconceptions about it still prevail.
