Hypnotherapy for managing rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. In 2022, around 514,000 (2.0%) people in Australia were estimated to be living with rheumatoid arthritis, affecting 2.5% of females and 1.6% of males.
Whilst there is no known cure to the autoimmune inflammatory process underlying RA, the symptoms of joint pain, swelling and stiffness can often be controlled and reduced by a range of medications. Unfortunately all medications have potential for negative side effects which have to be constantly monitored.
Modifiable protective factors such as eating a healthy plant rich diet high in omega 3's and antioxidants, regular exercise, quitting smoking & alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, and managing stress, have all been found to support enhanced health and well-being in people with various autoimmune diseases.
A study aimed to examine whether a psychological intervention such as clinical hypnotherapy could be effective in treating the symptoms and disease activity of RA. Sixty six RA patients participated in a controlled group design. Twenty six patients learnt the hypnotic intervention, 20 patients were in a relaxation control group and 20 patients were in a waiting list control group (Horton-hausknecht, Mitzdorf, & Melchart, 1999).
During hypnosis, patients developed individual visual imagery aimed at reducing the autoimmune activity underlying the RA and at reducing the symptoms of joint pain, swelling and stiffness.
Subjective assessments of symptom severity and body and joint function, using standardised questionnaires and visual analogue scales, were obtained. Objective measures of disease activity via multiple blood samples during the therapy period and at the two follow-ups were also taken. These measurements were of erythrocyte sedimentation rate. C-reactive protein, haemoglobin and leukocyte total numbers.
Results indicated that hypnotherapy produced more significant improvements in both the subjective and objective measurements, above relaxation and medication. Improvements were also found to be of clinical significance and became even more significant when patients practised the hypnosis imagery regularly during the follow-up periods.
Jillian R. Horton-hausknecht, Ulla Mitzdorf & Dieter Melchart. The effect of hypnosis therapy on the symptoms and disease activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Pages 1089-1104 | Received 24 Aug 1998, Accepted 20 Jan 1999, Published online: 19 Dec 2007.
