TITLE:
Resolving Specific Psychological Stressors Can Instantly Reduce or Relieve Chronic Neck Pain and Upper Back Pain: Case Reports
AUTHORS:
Brandy Gillmore, Gaetan Chevalier, Stefan Kasian
KEYWORDS:
Neck Pain, Stress, Chronic Pain, Cervicalgia, Thermography, Thermal Imaging, Infrared Imaging
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.15 No.10,
October
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: The goal of this study was to use a
novel approach to pain relief which includes a participant using their mind to
reduce or relieve their neck pain in a matter of minutes and taking continuous
thermal medical imaging scans during the process to capture any concurrent
temperature changes at the location of the self-reported pain. Previous studies
using multidisciplinary approaches have shown that it is possible for a person
to achieve a moderate reduction in pain over a period of time (typically two or
more months). However, in this innovative study, the goal was to demonstrate
rapid pain relief (in a matter of minutes) using only the mind. Case report:
For this study, six subjects were selected, all of whom were experiencing
long-term chronic neck pain. The subjects consisted of five adult females and
one adult male. Several of the subjects also had pain that radiated into their
upper back region. Each subject participated in one talk therapy session during
which the subject’s neck was actively scanned by a thermal imaging (TI) camera
that was programmed to take a new thermal image every thirty (30) seconds. The
goal of the talk therapy session was to create a strong emotional shift by
encouraging the subject to let go of negative emotions and replace buried
painful feelings with feelings of positive expectation and optimism. Then, as
the subject created this emotional shift, the goal was to observe if this
change affected the subject’s self-reported physical pain, as well as noting
any visible effects in thermal images. Results: All six subjects
reported that they were able to relieve some or all of their pain by the end of
the talk therapy session. As they did, there was simultaneously a significant
decrease in temperature recorded on the TI images in the corresponding location
in their neck and upper back region. This suggested that the pain relief the
subjects reported was not merely “mind over matter”, since there were marked
physiological changes taking place. Discussion and Conclusion: It’s
worth noting that three of the subjects had moments during their talk therapy
session where they thought about a specific painful memory that increased their negative emotions. At that moment, their self-reported pain also increased,
and simultaneously, the infrared camera detected an increase in temperature in
the corresponding location where the subjects reported increased pain.
Subsequently, when the subjects were able to change the painful memory and once
again move towards feelings of optimism, they reported pain relief, and
simultaneously, the TI camera reported a decrease in temperature. Neither this
potential outcome nor any other potential outcome was discussed with the
subjects before or during the session. This research shows that talk therapy
may be used as a new therapeutic option for people not only with neck pain, but
possibly other types of pain, and that under certain circumstances, the results
can be rapid.