Hypnotherapy benefits IBS patients for years to come

Hypnotherapy provides relief from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for up to 6 years, study findings published in the journal Gut demonstrate.

Hypnotherapy provides relief from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for up to 6 years, study findings published in the journal Gut demonstrate. Gut-directed hypnotherapy has already shown short-term efficacy in improving symptoms, extra-colonic features, and quality of life in patients with IBS, and the research team, from the University Hospital of South Manchester in the UK, examined whether there were any longer lasting treatment effects. W Gonsalkorale and colleagues asked 204 IBS patients to complete questionnaires detailing symptoms, quality of life, anxiety, and depression before, immediately after, and for up to 6 years after hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy consisted of up to 12 weekly 1-hour sessions including “ego strengthening,” and further suggestions and interventions directed towards improving gut function, such as using the hands to warm the stomach. The subjective assessment questionnaire revealed that 71% of patients responded initially to hypnotherapy, with 52% saying their symptoms were “very much better” by the end of the course. In addition 19.1% classed their symptoms as being “moderately better,” 15.7% as “slightly better,” and 13.2% found no change. Among the patients who experienced benefits from hypnotherapy, 81% said their improvements continued after treatment ended, with just 19% reporting that the improvements lessened with time. The team emphasizes that all IBS symptoms score items showed significant improvements after hypnotherapy, with little change in the years following treatment. Significant improvements were also recorded in quality of life, depression, and anxiety, although these benefits relapsed to some extent in the follow-up period. “A potential criticism for the use of hypnotherapy as a treatment for IBS has been that it is costly to provide because of demands on therapists’ time,” Gonsalkorale et al note. Nevertheless, they conclude: “Because of its sustained effects in the majority of patients, costs of treatment could be rapidly offset by the ensuing reduction in cost of medication and other healthcare demands.”(Source:wwwGastroSource.com)