Medical Xpress: Hypnosis and Psychotherapy May Help Relieve Chronic Abdominal Pain in Children

Symptoms can be severe even when medical examinations reveal no underlying organic cause. Swedish researchers are investigating whether hypnosis can help these patients.

“Patients can experience quite severe symptoms even when an initial medical examination finds no organic abnormalities that could explain them,” said Ola Olén, an associate professor at Karolinska Institutet and a senior physician in the pediatric gastroenterology department at Sachsska Children’s Hospital in Stockholm.

These disorders include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation. Stress and psychological well-being can influence symptom severity, and the relationship works both ways, Olén noted.

Treatment begins by explaining to patients how pain develops. If this is not enough, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and gut-directed hypnosis may help. CBT allows patients to address anxious thoughts and fears about their symptoms.

Hypnosis does not involve losing control of oneself. Children are given audio recordings featuring relaxation exercises and guided imagery. For example, they may imagine going down a water slide at a speed they can control, or picture a hot-air balloon in which they regulate the amount of air.

In a pilot study involving 32 Swedish children and adolescents with IBS and recurrent abdominal pain, participants listened to the recordings at home for 15 minutes a day over 12 weeks. About 40% reported clinically significant improvement. However, the study did not include a control group, so the results should be interpreted cautiously.

Researchers are now conducting the PIPPI study, involving 300 participants, to compare hypnosis with CBT. They aim to determine how effective each method is and which patients benefit most from each approach. If the effectiveness of hypnosis is confirmed, it could become a treatment option that children can use at home.