Edit Jakubovits, Noémi Császár, Péter Pál Varga: Hypnosis and suggestive techniques within the preoperative period of primer spine tumour and chronic back pain

In this paper we are summarising the potential of hypnotherapy in the perioperative, operative and postoperative phases of primer spine tumour and chronic back pain patients. Up until now there was no relevant literature on this special subject. We are going to review the usability of hypnosis and suggestive techniques in this field. Suggestive therapy reflects to those techniques that can reach therapeutic effect by suggestive communication in altered states of consciousness. Hypnosis is a mental intervention which can effect psychological and physical changes as a result of altered brain activity. From this it follows that hypnosis may possess two major potentials for treatment: the first being symptom management, the second addressing psychological causes of illness. Hypnosis could serve as an effective tool for managing severe pain and analgesia characteristic of the pre-and postoperative periods in spine tumours. Illness, pain and anxiety result in a narrowed focus of attention and in an altered state of consciousness. This state resembles hypnosis, which explains why hypnotic procedures are suitable for establishing communication with, and improving the condition of, the patients. Pain relief and/or the activation of immune cells can be prompted by the employment of physical suggestions which can be effectively applied by doctors, physical therapists and nurses alike. The psychologist’s field of competence should concern the psychological effects of hypnosis. Psychotherapeutic approaches may help unveil stressful life events underlying the illness and activate coping strategies, even in the terminal stage. In hypnosis, spine tumour patients become able to experience that they can still do something for themselves even during the time of helplessness caused by their illness. Spine patients are treated by a team of orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologist, physiotherapist and psychotherapists in our institute. Our paper presents findings concerning hypnosis efficacy and suggests further potentials of team work by introducing the complex treatment protocol of spine tumour patients.

Keywords: spine tumour hypnosis suggestion teamwork

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