The effect of hypnotherapy on procedural pain and state anxiety related to physiotherapy in women hospitalized in a burn unit

Due to severe pain and anxiety in burn patients, especially in procedures such as physiotherapy, and because of the adverse effects of pain on the outcome of physiotherapy, application of adjunctive methods are necessary for achieving pain relief. Right now, no certain method of pain reduction is available. This study evaluated the efficacy of hypnotherapy in reducing pain and anxiety in burn patients through a randomized clinical trial. From amongst women hospitalized in a burn unit, 44 patients were selected and divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group underwent four hypnotherapy sessions and the control group remained without any hypnotherapy intervention. Procedural pain and anxiety related to physiotherapy were evaluated with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) contemporaneously in both groups. The degree of pain and anxiety caused by physiotherapy decreased significantly in the intervention group, as compared to the control group (P < 0.001). Hypnosis is recommended as a complementary method in burns physiotherapy. Copyright © 2004 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis