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A new study shows that hypnotherapy could help relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in some patients up to nine months after the end of treatment.
The study, a randomized controlled trial of 354 adults with IBS in primary and secondary care, found that after three months of treatment, 40% of patients who received hypnotherapy and 33% of those in the hypnotherapy.
This is compared to 17% of patients who were educated and treated. The study also revealed that these benefits persisted at follow-up nine months later.
According to the researchers, it is important to note that the results suggest that group hypnotherapy is as effective as individual sessions, which could allow more IBS patients to be treated cheaply.
According to the study findings, IBS patients treated with hypnotherapy reported an overall improvement in their condition and greater ability to cope with and be less disturbed by their symptoms compared to those receiving therapy. educational support. However, hypnotherapy did not seem to reduce the severity of symptoms, the researchers noted.
Although the results are promising, the researchers noted that more research would be needed to test the optimal number of hypnotherapy sessions, the effect that patient expectations may have on treatment outcomes, and the extent to which outcomes hypnotherapy are influenced by the magnitude of the psychological consequences. patient complaints.
"Our study indicates that hypnotherapy could be considered a treatment option for IBS patients, regardless of the severity of the symptoms and the subtype of IBS," said Dr. Carla Flik of the Medical Center. University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, who led the research.
"It is also promising that group hypnotherapy is as effective as individual sessions, which means that more people could be treated at a lower cost, should this be confirmed by new studies."
"What is striking about these results is the impact of the patient's perception of his illness on his suffering and the fact that his perception of symptoms seems to be as important as the actual severity of his symptoms." she added.
The SCI affects about one in five people worldwide. It is a persistent and difficult-to-treat condition, the symptoms of which can seriously affect the quality of life, including abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. For many people, drug and diet treatments do not work.
Researchers have indicated that psychological interventions have proven effective, but their use is limited by the lack of qualified therapists. Hypnotherapy has already shown promising results for IBS, but the majority of studies have been done in highly specialized centers and further research is needed to determine whether hypnotherapy is beneficial for primary and secondary care, where most patients are being treated, the researchers said.
The IMAGINE study recruited 354 adults aged 18 to 65 with IBS, who were referred by general practitioners and hospital specialists to 11 hospitals in the Netherlands between May 2011 and April 2016. Participants were divided randomly between two 45-minute individual sessions. (150 patients) or group sessions (150) hypnotherapy twice a week for six weeks, or education and supportive care (54).
The hypnotherapy treatment was provided by psychologists trained in hypnotherapist. It was a positive visualization technique in which patients received suggestions on how to control their digestive system to reduce feelings of pain and discomfort. Patients also received a CD so that they could practice self-hypnosis exercises at home for 15 to 20 minutes a day.
Participants assessed the severity of their symptoms, their quality of life, their psychological symptoms, their cost in health care and their absence from work at the start of the trial and immediately after the three-month and again nine-month treatment. months later, as well as symptom relief. immediately after treatment and nine months later.
The results showed that immediately after treatment, participants in both hypnotherapy groups reported satisfactory relief at rates well above those receiving supportive educational care and that these benefits persisted for nine months. month after the end of treatment.
The researchers found that satisfactory symptom relief did not accompany a significant improvement in the severity of symptoms.
"We do not know exactly how intestinal-directed hypnotherapy works, but it could change the patient's state of mind and their internal coping mechanisms, thus allowing them to better control Autonomic body processes, such as how they treat pain and modulate bowel activity, "said Flik. .
Improvements in quality of life, psychological complaints, cognition, reduced medical costs, and ICS-related work absences were similar across groups, she noted.
The researchers point out some limitations of the study. For example, 22 patients in the individual hypnotherapy group, 22 in the group hypnotherapy group and 11 in the control group discontinued before or during treatment.
In addition, a significant number of participants did not complete questionnaires three months and nine months after treatment, which could have skewed the results. They also point out that the lack of experience of SIB therapists and the low number of hypnotherapy sessions provided (half of the usual number) could have led to an underestimation of the effects of SIB therapy. l & # 39; hypnotherapy.
The study was published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology newspaper.
Source: The Lancet
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