Fibromyalgia Hypnosis Proves Beneficial

Chronic Widespread Pain is defined as pain during at least four of the days of the week lasting for at least three months. If there are at least 11 out of 18 defined positive trigger points, the condition is defined as Fibromyalgia.

Because hypnosis is so effective for a wide range of physical and psychological issues, numerous studies have been performed on its effectiveness for reducing symptoms from fibromyalgia,  As you will see from a sampling of the studies of fibromyalgia hypnosis below, its effectiveness has been validated:

Hypnosis Effective for Treatment of Refractory Fibromyalgia

In a controlled study, 40 patients with refractory fibromyalgia were randomly allocated to treatment with either hypnotherapy or physical therapy for 12 weeks with follow up at 24 weeks. Compared with the patients in the physical therapy group, the patients in the hypnotherapy group showed a significantly better outcome.(“Controlled Trial of Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of Refractory Fibromyalgia,” Netherlands, Journal of Rheumatology 1991, vol. 18, no1, pp. 72-75).

Hypnosis Yields Persistent Improvement

A pilot study of the effectiveness of hypnosis indicates that hypnosis treatment may have a positive effect on pain and quality of life for patients with chronic muscular pain. One group went through a standardized hypnosis treatment with ten consecutive therapeutic sessions once a week, each lasting for about 30 minutes, focusing on ego-strengthening, relaxation, releasing muscular tension and increasing self-efficacy. This group improved from their symptoms, (change from 62.5 to 55.4), while the control group deteriorated, (change from 37.2 to 45.1).  The 12 patients who completed the treatment showed a mean improvement from 51.5 to 41.6. One year later the corresponding result was 41.3, indicating a persisting improvement. (“Hypnosis as a treatment of chronic widespread pain in general practice: A randomized controlled pilot trial,” Grøndahl J R, Rosvold E O, BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 2008, PMC2553788)

Hypnosis/Guided Imagery Effective for Pain & Sleep Improvement

Researchers analyzing six comprehensive studies using hypnosis/guided imagery for the treatment of fibromyalgia found large effects on pain and medium effects on sleep at final treatment and at follow-up. (“Efficacy of hypnosis/guided imagery in fibromyalgia syndrome – a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials,” Bernardy K, Füber N, Klose P, Häuser W, BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011; 12:133, PMCID: PMC3132205