Hypnosis for pain and neuromuscular rehabilitation with multiple sclerosis: case summary, literature review, and analysis of outcomes.

Videotaped treatment sessions in conjunction with 1-month, 1-year, and 8-year follow-up allow a unique level of analysis in a case study of hypnotic treatment for pain and neuromuscular rehabilitation with multiple sclerosis (MS). Preparatory psychotherapy was necessary to reduce the patient's massive denial before she could actively participate in hypnosis. Subsequent hypnotic imagery and posthypnotic suggestion were accompanied by significantly improved control of pain, sitting balance, and diplopia (double vision), and a return to ambulatory capacity within 2 weeks of beginning treatment with hypnosis. Evidence regarding efficacy of hypnotic strategies included (a) direct temporal correlations between varying levels of pain relief and ambulatory capacity and the use versus nonuse of hypnotic strategies, (b) the absence of pharmacological explanations, and (c) the ongoing presence of other MS-related symptoms that remained unaltered. In conjunction with existing literature on hypnosis and neuromuscular conditions, results of this case study strongly suggest the need for more detailed and more physiologically based studies of the phenomena involved.