Meta-analysis · 2019
The effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials
Listen instead of reading · 35 minDirty Mind: Dirty Talk Hypnosis – Find Your Own WordsNo script, no borrowed lines: a trance that lets your own words out – in a lower, slower voice. Thompson, T., Terhune, D. B., Oram, C., Sharangparni, J., Rouf, R., Solmi, M., et al. · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 99, 298–310
Main finding
Hypnotic suggestions reduced laboratory pain on average, and suggestibility mattered a lot. The largest effects were in highly suggestible participants, smaller effects in medium suggestible people and the smallest in low suggestible people.
What was done
A meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials in which healthy volunteers received hypnotic suggestions during laboratory pain, such as cold water or pressure.
What the study does not show
Laboratory pain is brief and controlled. The results describe experiments, not long-term pain conditions or any particular treatment.
Cite as
Thompson, T., Terhune, D. B., Oram, C., Sharangparni, J., Rouf, R., Solmi, M., et al. (2019). The effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 99, 298–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.02.013
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