| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 09/07/2007 : 19:54:46
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
CAN CHRONIC BACK PAIN BE CURED WITHOUT DRUGS, SURGERY, OR PHYSICAL THERAPY? RESEARCH STUDY BY A LOS ANGELES PHYSICIAN SUGGESTS IT CAN BE DONE.
http://www.mmdnewswire.com/study-shows-chronic-back-pain-can-be-successfully-treated-by-educational-and-psychological-program-2155.html
WEST LOS ANGELES, CA September 12, 2007.— According to researchers with the California-based Seligman Medical Institute (SMI), it may be possible to relieve chronic back pain by simply reeducating sufferers about the physical and emotional origins of their pain. The SMI study, which was just published in the Sept/Oct 2007 issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (www.alternative-therapies.com), suggests that chronic back pain patients can often be effectively treated without surgery, medication or even physical therapy. Using a program consisting solely of office visits, reading assignments, a structured workbook (guided journal), educational audio-CDs, and, in some cases, individual psychotherapy, the study's Principal Investigator David Schechter, MD was able to reduce pain levels of 51 chronic back pain patients (average nine years of pain before treatment) by over 50%. Commenting on the phenomena of the incidence of back pain in America, Dr. Schechter noted that chronic, nonspecific back pain is a ubiquitous problem that has frustrated both physicians and patients for quite some time. It is also one of the most expensive, costing the U.S economy alone over $100 Billion annually. Dr. Schechter stated that, "The treatment program we used was completely non-invasive and non-pharmacological — and very inexpensive to administer. While educational approaches have always played a prominent role in the prevention of illness, we think they can also play an important role in their treatment, especially conditions such as chronic pain, where most conventional and treatments don’t seem to work that well." He further stated that, "This should be of interest to health-care entities, employers, HMOs, insurers, and anyone else who is adversely affected by the spiraling cost of treating chronic pain."
The mind-body approach Dr. Schechter used was originally developed by John Sarno, MD, a rehabilitation specialist at NYU’s The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Over 25 years ago, Schechter was one of Dr. Sarno’s students, research assistants, and successful pain patients. Although Sarno has published four popular books on this “TMS” method and cured tens of thousands of patients, mainstream medicine has been skeptical of his approach, partly because it runs counter to prevailing views about what causes back pain and partly because of a lack of published scientific research. Some have suggested, however, that it is time for a paradigm shift in the way back pain is treated.
The study's investigators do caution, however, that more rigorous trials need to be performed to lend further weight to the study's findings. “We do think we have enough anecdotal evidence here to justify more serious research on this approach,” said SMI Foundation Coordinator Arthur Smith, PhD. “All of these patients had been in pain for at least six months and an average duration of 9 years before treatment. Most had already tried multiple conventional and alternative treatments to no avail. With this program, most of them got well or at least significantly improved. Stanley Azen, PhD, the USC biostatistics professor who did the statistical analysis in the study, computed the odds against that many people improving by that much by random chance at 10,000 to one. Something obviously happened here, and we think it had something to do with the treatment.”
Researchers used a standardized, self-reporting, pain scale to measure “least pain,” “worst pain,” and “average (typical) pain” before and after treatment. Scores improved by an average of 65%, 35%, and 52% respectively. (P<.0001). Medication use and mobility restriction likewise decreased significantly, while the scores for physical wellbeing also significantly improved.
The controversial theory behind the treatment program is that chronic pain is very often not caused by structural abnormalities in the spine, but a stress response in the brain. According to this theory, some emotions are too disturbing to confront directly, so the brain finds clever ways to distract our attention from them — and nothing grabs attention better than pain. Once the patient becomes aware of this, the brain very often gives up the ruse, and the pain, even after it has become chronic, disappears. It’s the change in thinking or belief that researchers believe causes healing changes in the brain and the back!
With the publication of this study, the Seligman Medical Institute hopes to generate enough public and professional interest in this approach to fund a proper clinical trial .
About The Seligman Medical Institute
The Seligman Medical Institute (SMI) (www.smi-mindbodyresearch.org) is a private, non-profit research and education foundation established to further our understanding of a diagnosis and treatment mode for chronic back pain and other chronic pain syndromes called "tension myositis syndrome (TMS)." a term coined by John Sarno, MD of New York University's Rusk Rehabilitation Institute to describe his "mind-body" approach to chronic pain. Founded in 2003, this Southern California foundation includes Principal Investigator David Schechter, MD, and Foundation Coordinator Arthur Preston Smith, PhD.
Contact Information:
Seligman Medical Institute
http://www.smi-mindbodyresearch.org
Arthur P. Smith, PhD, Foundation Coordinator
(949) 460-0820
drsmith@noetichealth.com
David Schechter, MD, Principal Investigator
(310) 447-4122 (cell)
SchechterD@aol.com
www.mindbodymedicine.com
www.schechtermd.com
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Sarno-ize it!
Read chapter 4 of Dr. Sarno's "The Divided Mind." Also chapers 3, 4 and 5 in Dr. Scott Brady's "Pain Free For Life" are very important. |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| stanfr |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 06:30:56
Excellent! thats just the sort of thing i was referring to in Sensei's post. but its just a small start. |
| JohnD |
Posted - 09/08/2007 : 11:06:30
so by your own definitions it looks like attracted to toxicity |
| art |
Posted - 09/08/2007 : 08:07:48
Imagine my surprise. |
| Sky |
Posted - 09/07/2007 : 21:27:03
Shanwsmith, nice to see a post by you that doesn't say "deleted." Does this mean you'll stick around and not abandon us forever?
I agree with your opinion that TMS knowledge can become an obsession, and thus a crutch, in itself and thus enable pain to persist. But this is an opinion that needs to stick around this forum! Even if you don't stop by every day (I don't), but come by as mmuch as works for you, that'd be nice at least from my opinion.
Hoping you stay... |
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