Alternative Therapies Affect Experience Of Chronic Pain

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Alternative Therapies Affect Experience Of Chronic Pain

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=50691

A significant number of people world-wide suffer with chronic pain,

which affects every aspect of their lives, and often results in

depression.

Researchers at Kent State University and Case Western University, led

by Kent State nursing professor Lewandowski, tracked the

experience of 44 patients being treated for chronic pain. Patients in

one group listened to a seven-minute audio tape that helped them to

relax, focus on the sensory images their pain evoked, and then guided

them to change the sensory images. This technique, known as " guided

imagery, " is an effective supplement to medication therapy. Unlike

those in the control group, the guided imagery patients in the study

described their pain as ultimately more tolerable or easier to control.