Hypnotherapy, Relaxation, and Music Therapy in Pediatric Cancer Pain Management: A Clinical Trial Comparison

Pain is a prevalent issue across various medical conditions, and numerous methods have been employed to manage it. In developed countries, cancer ranks as the second leading cause of mortality after cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of hypnotherapy, relaxation therapy, and Music Therapy (MT) with control groups in alleviating pain in children with cancer.

The research involved a single-blind clinical trial with a study population comprising children diagnosed with an abdominal mass and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Fifty-eight patients were selected through blocked randomization. Data were collected through a demographic checklist and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to measure pain intensity. Data analysis was carried out using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS version 22 to compare mean pain intensity among the study groups.

A total of 58 patients, with an average age of 9.28±4.02 years, participated in the study. Significant differences were observed between the hypnotherapy group and the other study groups (F=14.51; P≤0.001), as well as between the MT group and the other study groups (F=12.81; P≤0.001). Moreover, significant differences were found in terms of time between the relaxation therapy group and the other study groups (F=8.46; P≤0.001) and between the control group and the other groups (F=5.506; P≤0.001).

Based on the findings, relaxation therapy, hypnotherapy, and Music Therapy (MT) have shown significant effectiveness in alleviating pain in cancer patients during their treatment.

Trial registration Clinical trial. gov Identifier: IRCTID website (code: IRCT20120905010744N2; http://irct.ir).