FOR ANY HUMAN URGE OR NEED, it seems there’s now an app for one’s iPhone, iTouch or Blackberry to address it. Some are actually beneficial, such as one created by Marc Grobman, D.O.’86, that uses hypnosis to reduce pain.
“Hypnosis for Pain Relief” features two phases that help users imagine their pain visually and then manipulate the image to “shrink” it. The app sells for $4.99 from the iTunes Store or on CD.
“Anyone with chronic pain can use it to manage their pain, reduce it and use less medications,” says Grobman, an internal medicine physician in Wilmington, DE. “Anyone anywhere can use it, and if it doesn’t work, they’re not out much money.”
The app is working for many, however. Since the app went on sale Sept. 1, more than 250 units have been purchased by people around the world.
Grobman emphasizes that hypnosis puts the mind in a very deep state of relaxation that enables a person to receive and process beneficial suggestions; it can never cause a person to do something against his or her beliefs or values. He’s used it to achieve a 95 percent success rate with smoking cessation patients.
“As physicians, we’re so locked into current algorithms. But simply prescribing a pill is not what osteopathic medicine is all about,” he says. “One way to distinguish ourselves is to reach out and explore alternative therapies, not just poo-poo them.”
Photo © istockphoto/Catalin Petolea
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
