CRPS/Chronic Pain Patients & How Clinical Hypnosis Can Benefit Them

CRPS / Chronic Pain Patients and How Clinical Hypnosis Can Benefit Them

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome aka CRPS has been around since the Civil War.  Yet most recently when it is coming to the attention of the media it is being called, “The Mystery Illness…” as well as many other things.  Early on it was called Regional Sympathetic Dystrophy aka RSD, and then recently the name was changed to CRPS. 

According to most physicians that you will speak with they will tell you that they are not sure what causes CRPS.  What they do know is that your “Fight or Flight” nerves are continuously sending signals to the brain that there is trauma in the affected area.  Thus, the brain in turn sends back a pain signal and the patient is caught in a continuous loop of pain.  Yes, it is more complicated than this, but this is the easiest way to explain it so that everyone reading this can understand what is happening.  Now, the BIG question is how do we stop that pain signal?

For those of you that have read my earlier blogs, you know that I am a CRPS patient myself.  I was diagnosed in 2007.  I was diagnosed by a highly regarded Pain Management Doctor with two Doctorates and he is also an Associate Professor at a teaching University.  He initially thought he could have me in remission within 6 months… Well, as of the end of 2011 he had thrown his hands up as nothing he did worked and he was out of options.  That is not too comforting as a patient!  What he soon found out was that I refused to give in to CRPS, it had taken over my life, it had taken everything from me except for my will power.  I was originally diagnosed with CRPS type 2 in my left foot/ankle and after going through several Spinal Cord Stimulator surgeries, it also moved into my back.  After the usual traditional medicine failed me here in the US, I started flying to Frankfurt, Germany to get out of the control of the FDA to get treatment, and I even went to Mexico several times too.  Germany was able to get my pain levels from what you would know as a (10++++++) on the pain scale down to a 5.  I thought that was great, but after several months of being home it would slowly start to go back up.  I was treated in Frankfurt at a private clinic that I would highly recommend 5-6 times.  The Medical Director had dealt with CRPS previously and was not afraid to step out and try new things!  I was eventually introduced to what is called, Clinical Hypnosis, November of 2013.

I was referred to a person that specifically works with Chronic Pain patients, patients with CRPS, Phantom Limb Pain, Fibromyalgia, Cancer Pain, etc… 

Many people hear “hypnosis” and they think of the old stage shows, black magic, etc…  That is not what I am talking about at all! 

What is hypnosis?            The American Medical Association defines hypnosis as a temporary condition of altered attention, within which a variety of phenomena may appear spontaneously, or manifest themselves in response to verbal or other stimuli.  To state it simply, when a person is hypnotized or relaxed, their susceptibility to suggestion is increased.  Thus hypnosis or relaxation can be considered a learning process.

What is Chronic Pain?     Chronic Pain is pain that lasts longer than 6 months.  In some cases untreated pain may worsen as the nerve fibers which transmit pain signals to the brain become more efficient and effective at sending these messages to the brain.  This means that the intensity with increase to more than is necessary to get your attention and thus your brain will become more sensitive to pain.  If this persists then the usefulness of the pain will diminish and could instead lead to preventing individuals from going about their everyday activities / life.

When being in pain, pain causes stress or being stressed worsens pain – therapies including hypnosis, meditation and relation – may break the cycle (if taught by a Certified Clinical Hypnotist with experience in Pain Management).

Benefits of Hypnosis?    Research has shown medical / clinical hypnosis to be helpful for acute and chronic pain. In 1996, a panel of the National Institutes of Health found hypnosis to be effective in easing cancer pain.  More recent studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in pain related to burns, cancer, R.A. , Chronic Pain and the reduction of anxiety associated with surgery.  An analysis of 18 studies by researcher at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York revealed moderate to large pain relieving effects from hypnosis, supporting the effectiveness of hypnosis for pain management.

Overview:           A big part of chronic pain and dealing with it via hypnosis is an area of the brain referred to as the, “Limbic System”.  This area includes the Hypothalamus, Amygdala and Hippocampus.  When functioning properly, the Limbic System sets the emotional tone of the mind and influences changes throughout the body by using chemical messages.  However, when functioning abnormally numerous health problems can occur.  Physical problems, such as lack of sleep, too much stress, or chronic pain, exacerbates the problems created by an out-of-balance Limbic System.  In some cases, depending on the external factors, these imbalances can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  This is the essence of stress turning into distress. 

The Hypothalamus also regulates the functioning of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous systems, which in turn means it regulates things like pulse, blood pressure, breathing, and arousal in response to emotional circumstances.  Therefore, changing thoughts also changes our health.  Ultimately hypnosis is used, along with other techniques, to retrain the brain’s response through the Limbic System.

A good clinical hypnotherapist will take the time to find out where your Chronic Pain or CRPS is most prominent.  The person I saw explained the brain, the Limbic System, how cells regenerate every 90 days (and cells have memories… thus every 90 days you have the opportunity to reprogram your cells…), how the nerves fire in the brain and the biggest thing – “There is no pain, until the signal gets to the brain…”  How true that statement was!

We spent 30+ hours utilizing clinical hypnosis, bio-feedback, imagery, light/sound therapy and being taught ‘self-hypnosis’.   When all was said and done I found out that I too was suffering from PTSD in addition to CRPS.  This did make sense to me.  We worked on my pain levels or as he called them my, “comfort levels”, my sleep (going in I was doing good to get 2 hours per night), gaining control over what was important to me, etc… When I came home I had a copy of every session on CD, books, other CDs to listen to, my own light/sound therapy machine and felt fully equipped to keep my “Comfort Levels” at a ZERO.

If you would like more information on Clinical Hypnosis and how it could help you or a loved one dealing with Chronic Pain or CRPS please feel free to contact me!  I can be reached at rsd.crpsforum@gmail.com.

This is just an overview of hypnosis for pain management.  It is not meant as medical advice.  If you are under the care of a physician please continue their orders.