Art therapy

Scientists have known for a long time that art and entertainment activities such as music performances and dancing can help patients to reduce pain. A recent study published in the Journal of Symptoms Management and Pain (USA) shows that art creation has the same effect.

Cancer patients will have less pain
pain when composing art (Photo: Labor)

According to the study, 50 cancer patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago (USA) have reduced 8 out of 10 symptoms associated with pain and anxiety after 1 hour of painting or making a ceramic work. or jewelry. Although the exact mechanism that makes patients believe that their health has improved after participating in the "art of therapy" , the researchers predict that distraction may be the cause. Mainly, because trying to make a work of art will temporarily make people forget their pain and suffering.

But Judith Paice, director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Pain Pain Program, co-authored the study, said there are other causes for improving the symptoms of patients. Nancy Nainis - the therapist, the head of the research project - met with each of the 50 patients, emphasizing that the work they created was not important, and tried to encourage the disease. discuss any work they are writing and why they want to participate in this special project. According to Paice, patients speak quite openly about their problems."Because patients cannot express their fears with a therapist, or do not consider seeing a psychiatrist, they use art as a means to express fear. " she said.

Nainis said she was particularly surprised that most patients reported that they were less tired. Patients are required to rank their symptoms from 0 to 10, with 0 being no symptoms (such as painless) and 10 being very severe. As a result, the treatment caused average symptoms to drop by 1 to 2 steps."Some of the study participants also chat with each other that art has energized them," she said. "This is the first study of statistics on patients' pain relief under the effect of art therapy ".

However, the warning after all these studies is that more research is needed before the efficacy of treatment can be fully understood. The American Cancer Society claims that this study has not yet reached a final conclusion, although many clinicians believe it to be effective. Paice, for example, completely believed that their team was on the right track."Our research has shown early evidence of the important role of art therapy in reducing symptoms and pain in patients," she said .

Diep Linh (According to ABC)