Beneficial Effects of Self-hypnosis/Self-care for Chronic Pain Patients : a MRI and EEG Study

University of Liege

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Chronic Pain

Treatments: Behavioral: Self-hypnosis/self-care

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04263324

2017/291

Details and patient eligibility

About

Chronic pain concerns one in four adults in Belgium. Fibromyalgia is an example of chronic pain and is characterized by diffused and migrant musculo-tendinous pain localized in the limbs and at an axial level. The technological improvement in neuroimaging allowed to improve, at a cerebral level, the identification of the structural and the functional characteristics of this clinical entity. Studies indicated a modification in cerebral morphometry showing an alteration of white and grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal lateral cortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia, insula, secondary somatosensory cortex, thalamus, amygdala, putamen, superior temporal gyrus and periaqueductal grey matter. At a functional level, studies show un alteration in the connectivity of the default mode network, an atrophy of zones implicated in nociception and an increased activation of zone implicated in response to a nociceptive stimulus.

Nowadays, researchers are interested in finding out the beneficial effects of non-pharmacological techniques to improve de well-being of patients with chronic pain. Hypnosis is one of these techniques that has already proven to be successful in decreasing pain and improving global quality of life. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, no study has been conducted to understand the impact of hypnosis upon the cerebral functioning of these patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand the impact of a 6 months self-hypnosis/self-care learning program upon the structural and functional functioning of the brain by means of functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Major
• Fluency in French
• Fibromyalgia diagnosis

Exclusion criteria

• Neurologic disorder
• Psychiatric disorder
• Drug addiction
• Alcoholism

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 2 patient groups

Self-hypnosis/self-care group

Experimental group

Description:

It is a 7-months 2 hours-session (1 session per month) of self-hypnosis/self-care learning. Participants are given strategies to learn self-care (knowing their needs, self-respect, communication etc.), each strategy is discussed for participant to understand them and thus apply them correctly in daily life. An hypnosis exercise is conducted at the end of each session. A CD with the audiotaped hypnosis exercise is given to each patient so that they can practice also every day.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Self-hypnosis/self-care

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

No intervention