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Biomedical subjects

J Achterberg

Publications and source records attributed to J Achterberg.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Effect of immune system imagery on secretory IgA.

This study was an investigation of the effects of physiologically-oriented mental imagery on immune functioning. College students with normal medical histories were randomly selected to one of three groups. Subjects in Group 1 participated in short educational training on the production of secretory immunoglobulin A. They were then tested on salivary IgA, skin temperature, and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) before and after listening to a 17-minute tape of imagery instructions with specially composed background "entrainment" music designed to enhance imagery. Subjects in Group 2 (placebo controls) listened to the same music but received nor formal training on the immune system. Group 3 acted as a control and subjects were tested before and after 17 minutes of no activity. Treatment groups listened to their tapes at home on a bi-daily basis for six weeks. All groups were again tested at Weeks 3 and 6. Secretory IgA was analyzed using standard radial immunodiffusion techniques. Repeated measures analyses of variance with planned orthogonal contrasts were used to evaluate the data. Significant overall increases (p less than 0.05) were found between pre- and posttests for all three trials. Groups 1 and 2 combined (treatment groups) yielded significantly greater increases in sIgA over Group 3 (control) for all three trials. Group 1 (imagery) was significantly higher than Group 2 (music) in antibody production for Trials 2 and 3. Symptomatology, recorded by subjects at Weeks 3 and 6, was significantly lower for three symptoms (rapid heartbeat, breathing difficulty, and jaw clenching), favoring both treatment groups over the control group.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

Behavioral strategies for the reduction of pain and anxiety associated with orthopedic trauma.

This study examined the efficacy of behavioral strategies in alleviating pain and anxiety associated with severe orthopedic trauma. Sixty-four patients with multiple fractures were divided into four groups: (1) control, (2) attention only, (3) EMG biofeedback-assisted relaxation, and (4) audiotaped relaxation training. All were measured over at least six sessions, or as long as hospital stay permitted. Significant between group differences were found on the following: systolic blood pressure, peripheral temperature, subjective units of discomfort, state anxiety, with a trend for use of sleep medications. No differences were found on other vital signs, EMG recordings, or other medications. EMG-biofeedback relaxation and relaxation training were relatively equivalent for all measures, and little or no change was observed for those patients who received attention only or served as controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Effect of music-assisted imagery on neutrophils and lymphocytes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cell-specific mental imagery on neutrophil and lymphocyte cell counts. Subjects (N = 30) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups that underwent a 6-week training program focusing on images of morphology, location, and movement of either neutrophils or lymphocytes. Music was used to enhance the imagery of the subjects. Peripheral white blood cell and differential counts were determined before and after the final 20-minute imagery session. Results indicated that neutrophils decreased significantly (p less than .04) in the neutrophil-change group while lymphocytes did not. The reverse occurred in the lymphocyte-change group, with only the lymphocytes decreasing significantly (p less than .03). The authors concluded that under the conditions of the present study, cell-specific imagery was associated with decreases in peripheral blood cell counts of lymphocytes and neutrophils.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Self-directed EMG training for the control of pain and spasticity in paraplegia: a case study.

A 25-year-old paraplegic woman was able to gain control of her debilitating leg and bladder spasms and abdominal pain using self-directed EMG biofeedback. The case is significant in that she previously had only cursory exposure to biofeedback as an undergraduate student and received only minimal support and direction from an instructor. She proceeded through daily home practice using a borrowed EMG unit and audiotapes from Lester Fehmi's Open Focus series. Records were kept of the frequency and intensity of her pain and spasms, as well as the frequency and procedures of her home practice. She also maintained a record of specific psychosocial events in her life, which, over time, showed a strong, consistent pattern of influence on the recurrence and severity of her symptoms. The woman's physician declared her medical progress remarkable and encouraged her biofeedback work. At 2-year follow-up, she remains virtually symptom- and medication-free. Her successful biofeedback training program provides support for the value of client-directed biofeedback in selected cases.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1984

Ethnic and sex differences in response to clinical and induced pain in chronic spinal pain patients.

There is widely held clinical opinion and some tentative research justification for stereotypic or ethnic and sex differences in response to pain. To more adequately test this notion, 60 chronic spinal pain patients (black, Mexican American, and Caucasian, with ten men and ten women per group), all having persistent spinal pain for over 1 year, were studied. They were administered the ischemic pain test, a numerical estimate of spinal pain, and two independent raters scaled the amount of pain emphasis, based upon the patient's physical condition and pain behaviors. Results showed ethnic differences on the ischemic test (a psychophysiologic scaling technique used to approximate clinical pain and pain tolerance) with Mexican Americans describing the highest levels. Women of all ethnic groups tended to be judged as emphasizing their pain more than men, based upon judgment of their pain behaviors, and upon their own numerical estimates of pain. They also indicated that they more nearly approached their pain tolerance. It was concluded that while ethnic and sex differences were found, stereotypic responses were not uniform, and tended to be related to the manner in which that pain was assessed. These results are discussed in light of cultural differences.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Rheumatoid arthritis: a study of relaxation and temperature biofeedback training as an adjunctive therapy.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful systemic disease and is believed to be exacerbated by stress. Relaxation and biofeedback strategies have demonstrated utility in alleviating both pain and stress-related symptomatology, and therefore were tested for efficacy with this disease in a two-phase study. First, 24 patients were taught a relaxation technique and then trained in either temperature elevation or reduction. Second, a group of 15 patients thus trained was compared with 8 others who received traditional physiotherapy modalities. Psychological tests, functional/physical evaluations, as well as measurements related to pain, sleep, and other activities were carried out. Results of the first study revealed significant and positive changes following treatment that were primarily related to pain, tension, and sleep patterns for both groups, but no differential effects were noted between temperature elevation or reduction conditions. This was attributed to both groups having maintained temperature above baseline during biofeedback training. The results of the second study consistently favored the relaxation and biofeedback over the physiotherapy group on the physical/functional indices. The psychological measures tended to remain constant throughout both studies, leading to the conclusion that the effectiveness of treatment was specific to physical functioning rather than to a psychological enhancement of well-being.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗