AB084. SOH23ABS_049. Evaluating the potential of reducing the symptom burden of chronic pain using autogenic training for self-management
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AB084. SOH23ABS_049. Evaluating the potential of reducing the symptom burden of chronic pain using autogenic training for self-management

Anna Marie Kiernan1, Ruth Sewell2, Avril Enright1, Yvonne Murphy1, Dominic Harmon1

1Department of Pain Medicine, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, University Limerick Hospital Group, Limerick, Ireland; 2International House, British Autogenic Society (BAS) Ltd., London, UK

Background: Studies show that psychological therapies may help to reduce anxiety, fear and depression created by pain. Autogenic training (AT) comprises six standard mental exercises practised to reduce psychophysiological stress mechanisms. The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of AT for pain, stress, anxiety, and sleep management in an Irish teaching hospital.

Methods: Two trainees participated in individual British Autogenic Society supervised 9-week AT programmes. Trainee 1: face to face then online; trainee 2: online. Participants completed the Measure Your Medical Outcome 2 (MYMOP2), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) pre, interim, and 6 weeks post AT programme completion.

Results: For both trainees, all measures post compared with pre showed reductions. MYMOP2 and HADS scores showed greatest reduction of about fifty percent. PSQI scores showed greatest reduction at 6 weeks post AT. BPI-SF scores indicated a reduction of more than one third in pain scores.

Conclusions: Findings showed that AT positively impacts symptoms of anxiety, stress, sleep, and pain intensity in chronic pain. Research is needed to further validate AT as a useful symptom self-management tool for chronic pain.

Keywords: Anxiety; autogenic; training; chronic; pain

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-23-ab084
Cite this abstract as: Kiernan AM, Sewell R, Enright A, Murphy Y, Harmon D. AB084. SOH23ABS_049. Evaluating the potential of reducing the symptom burden of chronic pain using autogenic training for self-management. Mesentery Peritoneum 2023;7:AB084.

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