The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the floating form of the restricted environmental stimulation technique (REST) may be applied within the field of pain relief. Flotation-REST consists of a procedure whereby an individual is immersed in a tank filled with water of an extremely high salt concentration. Thirty-seven patients (14 men and 23 women) suffering from chronic pain consisting of aching muscles in the neck and back area participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to either a control group (17 participants) or an experimental group (20 participants). The experimental group received nine opportunities to use the flotation-REST technique in the water tank over a three-week period. The results indicated that the most severe perceived pain intensity was significantly reduced, whereas low perceived pain intensity was not influenced by the floating technique. Further, the results indicated that circulating levels of the noradrenaline metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol were reduced significantly in the experimental group but not in the control group following treatment, whereas endorphin levels were not affected by flotation. Flotation-REST treatment also elevated the participants' optimism and reduced the degree of anxiety or depression; at nighttime, patients who underwent flotation fell asleep more easily. The present findings describe possible changes, for the better, in patients presenting with chronic pain complaints.
This study aimed to investigate long-term effects of the flotation-REST (restricted environmental stimulation technique) 4 months after treatment. Seventy patients, 54 women and 16 men, participated, diagnosed as having stress-related pain. Twenty-six participants had also the diagnosis of burnout depression. Participants were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either a control group or a flotation-REST group and participated in a total of 12 flotation-REST or control sessions. Results indicated that pain areas, stress, anxiety, and depression decreased, whereas sleep quality, optimism, and prolactin increased. Positive effects generally maintained 4 months after treatment, but prolactin returned to initial levels. It was concluded that
INTRODUCTION:The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential effects of attention-placebo on flotation tank therapy. Flotation-restricted environmental stimulation technique is a method whereby an individual lies in a floating tank and all stimuli are reduced to a minimum. METHODS: Thirty-two patients were diagnosed as having stressrelated muscular pain. In addition, 16 of the participants had received the diagnosis of burnout depression. The patients were treated with flotation-restricted environmental stimulation technique for six weeks. One-half of the patients were also given special attention for 12 weeks (high attention), while the remainder received attention for only six weeks (normal attention). RESULTS: The participants exhibited lowered blood pressure, reduced pain, anxiety, depression, stress and negative affectivity, as well as increased optimism, energy and positive affectivity. The results were largely unaffected by the degree of attention-placebo or diagnosis. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that flotation therapy is an effective, noninvasive method for treating stress-related pain, and that the method is not more affected by placebo than by other methods currently used in pain treatment. The treatment of both burnout depression and pain related to muscle tension constitutes a major challenge for the patient as well as the care provider, an area in which great gains can be made if the treatment is effective. Flotation therapy may constitute an integral part of such treatment.Key Words: Attention; Depression; Flotation-restricted environmental stimulation technique; Pain; Placebo; Relaxation response Les effets de la méthode REST par flottation sur la douleur musculaire reliée au stress : Ce qui fait la différence dans la thérapie -le placebo-attention ou la réponse de relaxation?INTRODUCTION : L'étude visait à examiner les effets potentiels du placebo-attention sur la thérapie par bain flottant. La technique de stimulation environnementale réduite par flottation est une méthode selon laquelle un individu est couché dans un bain flottant et tous les stimuli sont réduits au minimum. MÉTHODOLOGIE : Trente-deux patients avaient reçu un diagnostic de douleurs musculaires reliées au stress. Seize d'entre eux souffraient également d'épuisement professionnel diagnostiqué. Les patients ont été traités au moyen de la technique de stimulation environnementale réduite par flottation pendant six semaines. La moitié des patients ont également reçu une attention spéciale pendant 12 semaines (attention élevée), tandis que les autres n'en ont reçu que pendant six semaines (attention normale). RÉSULTATS : Les participants affichaient une diminution de la tension artérielle, de la douleur, de l'anxiété, de la dépression, du stress et de l'affectivité négative, ainsi qu'une augmentation de l'optimisme, de l'énergie et de l'affectivité positive. Les résultats étaient en grande partie inchangés par le degré de placebo-attention ou le diagnostic. CONCLUSION : On a conclu que la thérapie par flottation est un...
The aim of the study was to investigate whether or not 33 flotation sessions were more effective for stress-related ailments than 12 sessions. Participants were 37 patients, 29 women and 8 men, all diagnosed as having stress-related pain of a muscle tension type. The patients were randomized to one of two conditions: 12 flotation-REST treatments or 33 flotation-REST treatments. Analyses for subjective pain typically indicated that 12 sessions were enough to get considerable improvements and no further improvements were noticed after 33 sessions. A similar pattern was observed concerning the stress-related psychological variables: experienced stress, anxiety, depression, negative affectivity, dispositional optimism, and sleep quality. For blood pressure no effects were observed after 12 sessions, but there was a significant lower level for diastolic blood pressure after 33 sessions. The present study highlighted the importance of finding suitable complementary treatments in order to make further progress after the initial 12 sessions.
Twenty-three sportsmen were given one 45-minute exposure to flotation-REST and one exposure to chamber-REST on two occasions, incorporating random assignment to either flotation-REST followed by chamber-REST or vice versa. On each occasion, the Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique (REST) procedure was followed immediately by testing experimentally induced pain to one arm using a blood pressure cuff. It was found that flotation-REST induced a significantly higher degree of altered states of consciousness (ASC), as measured with an instrument assessing experienced deviation from normal state (EDN), than did chamber-REST. Participants experiencing High EDN in the flotation-REST condition reported higher levels of both "experienced pain" and "experienced stress" than did those experiencing Low EDN. These results suggest that the particular distinguishing features of flotation-REST and chamber-REST may cause selective deviations from normal levels of consciousness, under experimental conditions, that may underlie the subjective experience of pain and stress thresholds. Experimental methods for studying pain processes may elucidate questions arising in clinical pain research. For example, experimental pain studies may be used to develop "coping" strategies as well as to evaluate the efficacy of these strategies (Edens & Gil, 1995). Nevertheless, studies involving experimentally
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