Monthly Archives: November 1999
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Posted: November 30, 1999Read more »
Effective Approaches for Adults & Kids with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
A thorough review and meta-analysis from Brazil affirms the usefulness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Certain SSRI Meds for OCD.Researchers from the Psychiatric Institute of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials published in the last decade involving cognitive and/or behavioral treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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Posted: November 30, 1999Categories: Athletic Excellence, Stroke, Athletic Excellence, Brain, Brain, Stroke Research, Hot ResearchRead more »
Imagery Rehearsal Found Critical in Motor Rehab for Stroke, Better than Physical Practice Alone
Researchers from the University of Lyon in Bron Cedex, France tested whether "mental rehearsal" (motor imagery) is equivalent to physical learning in restoring motor function in hemiplegic patients (paralyzed on one side), and examined what would be optimal proportions of real execution vs. rehearsal.
Subjects were asked to grasp an object and insert it into an adapted slot. One group (G0) practiced the task only by physical execution (240 trials); three groups imagined performing the task in different rates of trials (25%, G25; 50%, G50; 75%, G75), and physically executed movements for the remaining trials; a fourth, control group imagined a visual rotation task in 75% of the trials and then performed the same motor task as the other groups.
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Posted: November 30, 1999Read more »
What Helps Older Adults Sleep Better? Melatonin, Valerian, Tai Chi, Acupressure, Yoga ...
A review from the University of Pennsylvania finds several promising holistic therapies improve sleep disorders in older adults .Research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine’s Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology reviewed the growing body of well-designed clinical trials testing efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) for sleep disorders in older adults. They point to three promising areas:
- Melatonin is an effective agent for circadian phase sleep disorders; less clearly so for primary or secondary insomnia;
- Valerian shows benefit in some but not all clinical trials;
- Chi, acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, and meditation improve sleep parameters in a limited number of early trials
The author recommends that more research be done in all these areas.
Citation: Gooneratne NS. Complementary and alternative medicine for sleep disturbances in older adults. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. 2008 Feb;24 (1): pages 121-38, viii. [email protected]. -
Posted: November 30, 1999Read more »
In Neurological Rehab, Imagining Movement Delivers the Goods
A Dutch literature review concludes that imagining movement creates the same flow of sensory information that leads to the reacquisition of motor skills.
In rehab, active exercising creates the flow of sensory information responsible for the learning or relearning of lost (or newly needed) motor skills. This review article addresses whether active physical exercise is always necessary for creating this sensory flow.
It points to numerous studies indicating that motor imagery can result in the same plastic changes in the motor system that actual physical practice provides. Motor imagery is the mental execution of a movement without any overt, corresponding movement or without any peripheral (muscle) activation.
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Combo of CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) plus meds more effective for panic than either one alone
Posted: November 30, 1999Researchers from the University Medical Center Groningen in The Netherlands investigated whether the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy (Sustained Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRI’s, such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Lexapro, etc) was more effective in treating panic disorder (PD) than either CBT or SSRI’s alone, and to evaluate any differential effects between the single treatments.Read more »
One hundred fifty patients with panic disorder randomly received either CBT only, SSRI’s only or CBT plus SSRI’s. Outcome was assessed after 9 months, before the medication was tapered off. -
Posted: November 30, 1999Read more »
Guided Motor Imagery Helps with Athletic Performance, Neurological Conditions
Investigators at the University of Haifa in Israel reviewed the literature to determine the positive effects of guided motor imagery practice on motor performance. There is abundant evidence that motor performance is improved in athletes, people who are healthy, and people with neurological conditions, such as stroke, spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease. This article discusses how to integrate motor imagery into a physical therapy practice and goes into particulars of visual and kinesthetic motor imagery, factors that modify motor imagery practice, the design of motor imagery protocols, and potential applications of motor imagery.
Citation: Dickstein R, Deutsch JE. Motor imagery in physical therapist practice. Physical Therapy. 2007 Jul; 87 (7): pages 942-53. Epub 2007 May 1 [email protected]. -
Posted: November 30, 1999Hypnosis Reduces Chemo-Induced Nausea & Vomiting in Kids with CancerRead more »
Faculty of Health & Social Work at the University of Plymouth in the UK reviewed the research literature and found that hypnosis is highly effective for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, especially in children. -
Posted: November 30, 1999Categories: Athletic ExcellenceRead more »
Researchers from the School of Kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario investigated how ten sports-injured athletes used guided imagery during the course of their physiotherapy treatment. In-depth interviews established that the athletes clearly believed the imagery served cognitive, motivational and healing purposes in effectively rehabilitating their injury.
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Posted: November 30, 1999Categories: Surgery, Pain, Hypnosis, Cancer/Oncology, Surgery Research, Pain Research, Hypnosis ResearchRead more »
After one hypnosis session before a lumpectomy or breast biopsy, patients require 22% less analgesia and 34% less sedation; and report 53% less pain intensity, 74% less nausea, 46% less fatigue, 47% less discomfort, and 74% less emotional upset
Researchers from New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine randomly assigned 200 women scheduled for a breast biopsy or lumpectomy to a brief pre-surgical session of either supportive therapy or hypnosis. The hypnotic procedure included guided relaxation, the use of imagery, and symptom-focused suggestions. All the women were treated with anesthesia and pain medications during the procedures and given painkillers as needed afterward.
The study found that during surgery, the hypnotized women required 22% less analgesia and 34% less sedation. After surgery, they reported 53% less pain intensity, 74% less nausea, 46% less fatigue, 47% less discomfort, and 74% less emotional upset. They also spent 11 fewer minutes in surgery, resulting in a cost savings of almost $800 per patient.
The authors conclude that a brief, one-session hypnosis intervention appears to be one of the rare clinical interventions that can simultaneously reduce both symptom burden and costs.
Citation: Montgomery GH, Bovbjerg DH, Schnur JB, David D, Goldfarb A, Weltz CR, Schechter C, Graff-Zivin J, Tatrow K, Price DD, Silverstein JH. A randomized clinical trial of a brief hypnosis intervention to control side effects in breast surgery patients. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2007 Sep 5;99 (17): pages 1304-12. Epub 2007 Aug 28. [email protected] -
Posted: November 30, 1999Categories: Women's Health/OBGYN, Pain, OBGYN, Women's Health/OBGYN Research, Pain Research, Hot ResearchResearchers at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan explored the impact of guided imagery on women with interstitial cystitis (a syndrome with symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency and pelvic pain).Read more »
Thirty (30) women with diagnosed IC were randomized into 2 equal groups. The treatment group listened to a 25-minute guided imagery compact disc (CD), created specifically for women with pelvic pain and IC, twice a day for 8 weeks. The focus of the guided imagery CD was on healing the bladder, relaxing the pelvic-floor muscles, and quieting the nerves specifically involved in IC. The control group rested for 25 minutes twice daily for 8 weeks.
