Patients’ experiences of Craniosacral Therapy in the treatment of chronic neck pain: a qualitative analysis of health outcomes

摘要

Purpose: Current research within the field of CraniosacralTherapy (CST) is limited, especially in terms of appropriatehealth outcomes for body based complementary and alternativetherapies. Therefore this study aimed to investigate howpatients experience the treatment of CST and to infer suitableoutcome measures for further clinical trials.Methods: A subsample of chronic non-specific neck painpatients was selected from a randomized controlled trialexamining the efficacy of CST in comparison to sham(NCT01526447). At baseline 19 patients (mean age 42.5±10.4;13 fem ale) of the CST group were asked to complete drawingsof their perceived body shape and pain areas. Drawingswere repeated after 8 weekly treatments and were followed bya semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed using qualitativecontent analysis.Results: Changes due to CST were reported at various levelsof human experiencing. Most patients described positivechanges in more than one of the following domains: physical(less intensity of pain, headache and dizziness, improved sleepand range of motion), perceptional (more upright and symmetricalposture, sustained deep relaxation), emotional (painis less threatening, increased calm, confidence and hope), cognitive(increased body awareness and self-efficacy, extinctionof pain memory, increased concentration and less mind cinema),spiritual (sense of basic trust and peace), behavioral(moving in action alternatives, actively avoid stress, sportis again possible), social (more social contacts and activities)and economic domain (less pain medication, improvedwork efficiency). Several patients reported initial aggravationof symptoms, but no persisting or serious adverse events.Conclusion: Study results indicate that measuring healthoutcomes in CST research should not only be limited to aphysical symptom level, but should also include tools forquantifying salutogenic variables and economic reliefs aswellas adverse events.