Beneficial Effects of Guided Imagery or Clinical Massage on the Status of Patients in a Progressive Care Unit

Guided Imagery Effects on Pain, Anxiety, and Sleep for Lumbar Discectomy Patients

PURPOSE

Pain, sleep problems, and anxiety due to all these are common problems in patients who have had herniated disk surgery. This study aims to analyze the effect of the guided imagery technique on the patients' pain, anxiety, and sleep levels before and after a lumbar disk herniation (LDH) operation.

DESIGN

This study was conducted as a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial.

METHODS

The research was conducted with 60 patients who underwent LDH surgery and met the inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into experimental and control groups according to a computer-generated randomization list. The treatment group (n = 31) applied guided imagery techniques twice, once in the preoperative and postoperative periods. The control group (n = 29) was provided with routine care. "Introductory Information Form," "Surgery-Specific Anxiety Scale," "Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire," and "Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)" were used. The data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, paired sample t test, independent sample t test, Pearson chi-square exact test, and repeated measures two-way analysis of variance. In all results, P < .05 was considered statistically significant.

FINDINGS

The preoperative anxiety level of the treatment group was lower compared to the anxiety level of the control group (P < .05). The sleep score of the treatment group in the preoperative period was higher than the sleep score of the control group (P < .05). The sleep score of the treatment group in the postoperative period was found to be higher than the sleep score of the control group (P < .05). The pain average of the treatment group in the postoperative period was lower than the pain average of the control group (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study results revealed that guided imagery applied in the preoperative and postoperative periods effectively decreased pain and anxiety levels and increased the sleep quality of patients with LDH.

Imagery: A Review

Modern neuroscience has shown that relaxing images cause the brain to release high levels of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, which reduce anxiety, block cortisol, and increase neuroplasticity. Modern medicine positions human beings as passive, helpless, in need of external aid and in need of repair. However, man should be seen as a being with physical and spiritual power that can repair himself far beyond this passive role. The common point of all the studies examined in this study is that imagery, which is an internal skill, can be used as a low-cost and effective mental therapy tool. Some studies have described imagery as a more effective method than pharmacological interventions. It is seen that the application of imagery is widely used in many diseases such as psychotic disorders, cancer, asthma, migraine, hypertension, immune system diseases, mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. It is seen that the imagery technique, which is thought to work as a defense mechanism and drive satisfaction according to psychoanalytic perspective, is widely used in fields such as mindfulness-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectic therapy. This review, first of all, mentions the use of imagery and imagery in history, and then describes current research on imagery applications on different diseases. In addition, it was written to emphasize the lack of research on the mechanisms by which this personal and internal power, which is thought to affect the efficiency of the treatment, regardless of which physical or psychological help is sought, and to encourage new research.

Music to reduce stress in hospitalized patients

PURPOSE

To determine the impact of music on the physiologic and psychological stress experienced by hospital inpatients.

METHODS

This pilot study monitored vital signs; utilized pain, anxiety, and agitation rating scales; and gathered verbal feedback from 50 participating inpatients at the authors' healthcare facility as they listened to music via an audiovisual interactive patient engagement technology system.

RESULTS

After listening to music for 30 minutes, patients reported significantly lower pain and anxiety.

CONCLUSION

Music offered a helpful tool to reduce pain and anxiety for patients in the ICU and telemetry units at the authors' healthcare facility. Future research may be geared toward incremental expansion and monitoring of this music intervention in other units.

The effects of guided imagery and hand massage on wellbeing and pain in palliative care: Evaluation of a pilot study

BACKGROUND

This study aims to measure the effect of guided imagery and hand massage on self-rated wellbeing and pain for palliative care patients.

METHODS

This study adopted a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test post-test design. The sample consisted of n = 20 adult palliative care patients who received one session of guided imagery and hand massage. Self-reported levels of wellbeing and pain were measured on a scale of 0-10 before and after the intervention. Results were analyzed using a one-tailed sign test in SPSS Software.

RESULTS

The intervention elicited a statistically significant improvement in self-reported levels of wellbeing (p = .029) and pain (p = .001). Feedback from participants showed the intervention was helpful and relaxing.

CONCLUSION

The intervention had an immediate positive effect on wellbeing and pain among palliative care patients. Considering the promising results of this pilot study, guided imagery and hand massage should be studied further in the palliative care setting.

Integrative Medicine in Interventional Oncology: A Virtuous Alliance

This review aimed to identify the potential role of integrative medicine in interventional oncology. The music therapy; stress management techniques; guided imagery, including virtual reality; clinical hypnosis; and digital sedation may all be efficient on anxiety and pain during procedures performed in interventional oncology. Beyond pharmacological sedation, the implementation of integrative medicine to interventional oncology may, therefore, improve the support and care of cancer patients, which may further create a virtuous alliance.