July 30, 2007 – Learning self-hypnosis could prove useful for children and adolescents who suffer from migraines or recurrent headaches, according to clinical observations from two American pediatricians.
According to the results of the study, 88% of the 144 young participants who were taught relaxation, visualization and autosuggestion techniques were able to control the pain associated with the frequent headaches they suffered from. .
The frequency of headaches fell from 4.5 weekly seizures at baseline to 1.4 after learning hypnotherapy techniques. The intensity of pain, rated on a 12-point scale, increased from 10.3 to 4.7, while the average duration of an attack fell from 23.6 hours to 3 hours. The authors report not having observed any adverse effects associated with the practice of self-hypnosis.
The 81 girls and 63 boys, averaging 11.5 years old, received individual self-hypnosis training over three or four sessions. Then, they were asked to practice self-hypnosis at home for two or three daily sessions of 15 to 20 minutes each. They were also to apply the techniques taught whenever symptoms of a headache appeared. Note that there was no control group.
According to the authors, the effect is large enough to further research in this area. Especially since the drugs usually prescribed in such cases are only relatively effective and often cause unwanted effects, they add.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Reuters Health.
1. Kohen DP, Zajac R. Self-hypnosis training for headaches in children and adolescents. J Pediatr. 2007 Jun; 150 (6): 635-9.
