NEUROAURICOLOTHERAPY AND HYPNOSIS: NEW THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

M.M. Torresan, M. Clemente | Former referents for Pain Therapy and Palliative Care at the AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino

INTRODUCTION
Fibromyalgia is a condition characterized by widespread chronic pain that is associated with significant fatigue, tiredness, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating. The constant presence of pain emotionally transforms the person and generates stress and depression, making it difficult to cope with daily activities in work and social environments. People often risk enduring a long journey through examinations, visits, and ineffective therapies. In recent years, the correct treatment has been clearly defined, and an important role in the multimodal therapeutic pathway is supported by complementary therapies that can be associated with drugs. Among the complementary therapies, neuroauriculotherapy and hypnosis have proven to be particularly effective. Neuroauriculotherapy acts directly on the symptom of pain and the possibility of reducing stress levels, thereby optimizing general conditions. Hypnosis allows a person to learn and appropriate a tool (self-hypnosis) with which to influence their physical, mental, and behavioral conditions, enhancing their abilities and resources to manage anxiety, fear, fatigue, and pain.
METHODS
The two therapies were used simultaneously on 60 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of fibromyalgia: 57 women and 3 men aged 21 to 80 years (average 61 years). The therapeutic process included sessions of 60 minutes every 20-25 days for 3 consecutive times. Each session was preceded by a welcome to build trust and cooperation, by an evaluation from the algologist to assess the intensity and extent of the pain, and by the administration of the following tests: SSS (Symptom Severity test), WPI (Widespread Pain Index). In the first session, the therapeutic goal was to resolve the muscle contracture with psycho-physical benefits and a decrease in pain perception, while in the second the goal was the reduction/disappearance of pain, and in the third, stabilization of symptom control. The patients were followed over a period of 6 months.
RESULTS
With this association, all treated patients benefited in terms of pain, mood, and level of disability. In 80% of patients, the WPI associated with the SSS drastically reduced to a score of 0, starting from an initial score between 25 and 11, with complete abstention from analgesics. In this group of patients, the benefits obtained were maintained during the follow-up period, while in the remaining 10%, there was a decrease in benefit measured by the WPI and SSS between 1 and 3, with persistent asthenia and poor restorative sleep. The remaining 10% of patients experienced a resurgence of pain and related symptoms and were referred for rheumatological reassessment.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of the two complementary therapies in combination has provided a valid tool for achieving rapid and lasting pain relief, resulting in the individual's return to an active life both at work and socially and psychologically.