Background
Methods
Study design
Sampling
Intervention
Data assessment
Data analysis
Results
Sample characteristics
Qualitative content analysis
Major themes | Minor themes |
---|---|
1. Expectations and premises | Hopes and fears Safe and trustworthy setting |
2. Local and systemic bodily responses | Immediate anesthetic effects Vegetative responses Need for rest Initial symptom aggravation Pain and symptom alleviation Reintegrated body image and increased awareness Improvement in daily functioning |
3. Emotional release and contentment | Emotional release reactions Integration of dissociated memories Cognitive reframing Bodily responses Improved mood and enjoyment of life Retrieving personal agency |
4. Adverse events | Pain from the injection Vegetative complaints Emotional turmoil |
5. Patients’ conclusions | Significance of the treatment effects |
Theme 1: Expectations and premises
- “I considered this as a chance. I thought: What do I have to lose? I have nothing to lose.” (13|58)
- “I was really worried. I don’t want to leave this hospital in a wheelchair, I told the doctor. But he reassured me and I’m very thankful that I could ask all of my questions.” (10|62)
- “You need trust. I would not allow anyone to use such long needles on such sensitive body parts.” (20|93)
- “The safe environment here, which I did not have outside, to allow yourself to fall.” (05|110)
Theme 2: Local and systemic bodily responses
- “Well, you feel a little prick and later on a diffuse feeling of pressure.” (10|44)
- “My pain was suddenly blown away. […] And it became warm, right up to the knee. And the next time, right up to the foot.” (16|43–46)
- “I got a little dizzy at first, but only for a short while, then I felt warmth spreading out into my feet. A very comfortable feeling.” (14|42)
- “This was such an exhilarating feeling. There was nothing: you felt nothing, you thought nothing, nothing at all.” (13|30)
- “As if I was on a beautiful cloud. Such a calm, content and decelerated feeling. [...] I was very close to myself, very focused. The view goes deeply inwards. Similar to what happens when I practice Yoga.” (20|41,45)
- “During the injection, I noticed that my eyes were welling up and that my nose was running. That did not happen for the last 20 years! I was so happy at having a runny nose.” (07|47)
- “I had to go to the toilet about five times that night, passing water.” (17|56)
- “My periods started, which shouldn’t actually be possible, because I haven’t had any periods since I got my coil put in, two years ago.” (21|66)
- “Afterwards, I felt so tired but in a good mood because something was moving.”(03|55)
- “I wanted to be alone. Walking through the park. That made me feel good.” (22|65)
- “My upper back has improved but the pain of my lower back has increased.” (19|91)
- “And then, the teeth that I had had taken out started to hurt. [...] Isn’t that a sign that my whole body responded?!” (14|42,52)
- “At times, I had pain everywhere in my body. Every step hurt. And all of a sudden I can walk without any pain in my legs. So far, the pain has not returned. I am totally excited.” (21|64)
- “I have had more solid bowel movements for two days now. This is a very rapid success, considering that I’ve had severe, debilitating diarrhea for nearly nine months.” (20|73)
- “The next morning I thought: My hands - nothing hurts! I wasn’t sure; was that a dream? Was it real? How long would it last? Would it be gone by tomorrow? But it lasted until today. […] I still have pain in my back, although I’ve had two injections right here, but the tingling in my legs, the electrical ‘prickling’, is gone.” (13|34–38)
- “My foot was limp. You gave a try, you tried to move the foot, but nothing happened. And, at the moment that I had the injection, it felt as if life re-entered my foot.” (18|99)
- “When the arthritis worsened, and got more painful, I felt as if my leg didn’t belong to me. Like a foreign object, a peg leg. And after the injection, my leg felt more vivid. It was mine. […] It’s great, growing back together again.” (16|45,97)
- “That supports me in listening even more to my gut feelings. [...] And I believe that I might be able to get much closer to my inner self, and trust more in what I really feel.” (20|67)
- “When you’ve got so many different places that hurt, you feel like you’re in a vice. As if my body was eighty years old. [...]. Now, I feel considerably younger!” (18|137)
- “Afterwards, I felt as if I’d been in the fountain of youth [...]. And all the others said: Wow! You’re looking really great!” (03|63)
- “Joy! Joy! […] I didn’t need my crutches anymore! I can’t believe it, after three and a half years!” (04|83)
- “I’ve been discharged from medical rehabilitation, due to pain, and unable to work. Now, I have the courage to say, okay, I can imagine working for eight hours.” (13|50)
Theme 3: Emotional release and contentment
- “Images flashed through my head, from right to left. I felt pretty confused.” (06|50)
- “The injection made me think ‘I have to surrender’. I’ve had such a lump in my throat. […] And then, like a tornado, like a volcano, ‘I have to cry’. I’ve only ever seen pictures of my father. He died 49 years ago. I never said goodbye to him.” (02|40,56)
- “When I got the injection, it all spouted out of me. Suddenly, I saw images, memories resurfaced, I started to cry bitterly, I shivered. [...] I couldn’t control it at all. All those emotions came up to the surface again. I’m glad that it happened, because now it’s gone. It wasn’t threatening; in fact it was a relief.” (21|24,65)
- “And then I could allow that, tick, tick, tick, images from my memory popped up, like in a movie. I went through my entire tonsillectomy again. But this time, I saw the scene more as if from above. At the end, I felt that it was okay. […] That’s the way it happened. It wasn’t as frightening as the real surgery.” (01|52–54)
- “Well, it was like a film running backwards. Like watching your life in reverse. [...] It was very realistic, or maybe not realistic, but like a critical view of something that you can’t change, anyway.” (03|135–137)
- “I only knew that I had this deep sadness inside, which I couldn’t identify. I thought that I would’ve processed the miscarriage; that I could deal with it, but that wasn’t true. That wasn’t obvious to me. Not at all.” (21|34)
- “When I got the injection, suddenly, the images came back, everything that happened that day. All the feelings came back. […] And I cried, bitterly, until it stopped. And the next day, I felt such a release, as if a belt around my heart has split. […] I feel like I can breathe again, that the sadness is gone. With one treatment! And the pain in my hands has decreased. And the pain in my shoulders as well.” (21|28)
- “The next morning I woke up and thought that something is different. Although the weather was actually cloudy, to me all the world seemed bright.” (11|27)
- “I feel physically and mentally relieved. It’s really depressing having pain all the time, but you don’t want give up. You tackle the problem, but it’s always a struggle, a fight. And now, there’s less fighting and that’s great.” (06|120)
- “Before the therapy, I cried a lot, because nothing seemed to work anymore. Now, I feel stronger, because the load is gone, this burdensome situation.” (19|77)
- “I looked back carefully, once again, and decided to finish the whole thing off. It was so many years ago. This might be a new beginning for me.” (03|105)
Theme 4: Adverse events
- “The initial prick hurts and it continues to hurt until the needle has found its position. Then, the injection of the procaine causes a feeling of pressure. Sometimes I need to say ‘Stop - slower, please’, until the anesthesia occurs. Then it’s okay. That’s always a challenge.” (20|31)
- “And then I just felt sick. I thought I have to throw up. I felt dizzy.” (02|38)
- “During the injection, I had hot flashes, which disappeared quickly. [...] Afterwards, I did feel quite exhausted, and sometimes a bit dazed, the closer the injections got to my head.”(19|35,27)
- “I had nightmares, really bad nightmares. But they stopped as suddenly as they appeared.” (06|104)
- “These memories appeared more frequently over the course of the next day and the next afternoon. They were quite intense.” (05|67)
Theme 5: Patients’ conclusions
- “Quality of life. Absolutely! Before the Neural Therapy, I managed my life alongside the pain. You took more pills, you took part, also laughed with other people, but you were strained all the time. Now my pain has got less, I’ve realized how relieved I am and how great it is.” (06|118)
- “When the pain in my knee cartilage reappeared, I was very disappointed.” (16|107)
- “[There was] no mood brightening, or anything like that. It was all quite normal.” (10|65)
- “Here, Neural Therapy is embedded in a larger concept. This has led to more stability. Together with other tools that I use, I think, this has led to a more long-lasting effect.” (16|62)
- “If I feel worse again, I would consider using Neural Therapy again.” (13|66)