Using a hypnotherapy-based app may ease irritable bowel syndrome. , which is available to download, guides users through a 10-minute, gut-related hypnotherapy session every day for six weeks.
鈥淲e were really impressed by the degree of improvement,鈥� says at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, who led Nerva鈥檚 development. 鈥淸The app] works better than any drug we have for these patients and there are no side effects.鈥�
In the UK alone, . Symptoms include abdominal pain and bloating, as well as constipation or diarrhoea聽or both.
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IBS鈥檚 causes aren鈥檛 fully understood, but disordered signalling between the gut and brain is thought to be a major culprit. This can go both ways: amplified distress signals may travel from the gut to the brain in response to certain triggers, such as foods or bacteria. Alternatively, these signals may go from the brain to the gut following psychological stress.
One way to repair this disordered gut-brain communication may be hypnotherapy. This involves directing an individual into a trance-like state and then suggesting that their symptoms are improving.
In 2016, Peters and her colleagues published the results of a clinical trial in 74 people with IBS that compared hypnotherapy with the low FODMAP diet. This diet involves eliminating certain foods that can trigger symptoms and is considered one of the most effective treatments available. In the trial, the hypnotherapy, delivered by a trained practitioner in person, .
To make the therapy more accessible, Peters developed Nerva, which has been downloaded by more than 80,000 people since its release in 2019.
At the beginning of each session, users are drawn into a trance-like state by asking them to relax different body parts, a so-called body scan. Next, they are asked to imagine a particular scenario, such as going to a pharmacy to collect a medicine designed just for them. They are then told statements like, 鈥渢here will be no more pain, no more bloating and no more discomfort鈥�.
At the beginning and end of the programme, users are asked to rank where their symptoms fall along a line, with one end representing the most severe symptoms and the other no symptoms.
On average, users who complete the programme report a decrease in severity from 67 to 39 out of 100. This is on a par with the effectiveness of in-person hypnotherapy and the low FODMAP diet, says Peters, who will present the results at the in North Carolina on 24 October. The app鈥檚 efficacy wasn鈥檛 tested against standard IBS treatments.
While gut-related symptoms aren鈥檛 eliminated with the app, at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, says the improved outcome could make a big difference to the quality of life of people with IBS.
According to Peters, this improvement also exceeds that of medications that are often used to treat common IBS symptoms, such as laxatives for constipation.
Only about one-fifth of people who download Nerva complete the six-week programme, with this level of adherence being common for health apps, says Peters. Most dropouts occur after the free seven-day trial, she says, when a payment of 拢49 or $80 is required for a three-month subscription.
Monash University is recruiting people with IBS for a clinical trial that will randomise them to receive the app-delivered hypnotherapy alongside education about IBS or the education alone.
