Head of project stopped

Coping-oriented hypnotic suggestions aimed at reducing pain catastrophizing was shown to reduce pain in people with chronic tension-type headache and experimental pain in healthy volunteers during hypnosis (Kjøgx et al., 2016). However, the duration of the effect on pain post-hypnosis is unknown.

The aim is to investigate the durational effect of a single session of coping-oriented hypnotic suggestions on chronic pain in patients with spinal cord injury. If effective for a longer period post-hypnosis, this form of hypnosis may provide an alternative to medicine or may be used in conjunction with lower medicine dosages.

Methods: 75 patients with spinal cord injury and pain is randomized into one of three conditions; coping-oriented hypnosis plus current treatment, neutral hypnosis plus current treatment or current treatment only. Pain intensity, coping strategies, pain catastrophizing, anxiety and depression is assessed before intervention and over a period of 14 days post-intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Spinal cord injury (tetraplegia or paraplegia) with some preservation of hand functioning
• Baseline pain level of ≥ 3 on a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS; 0-10 where 10 is extremely severe pain)
• Pain duration of at least 8 weeks.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe mental or psychiatric illness
• Substance abuse (drugs, alcohol or medicine)
• Lack of ability to cooperate during the experiment
• Severe high cervical lesions
• Severe autonomic dysautonomia