Relaxation and Imagery and Cognitive-Behavioral Training Reduce Pain During Cancer Treatment

The randomized, placebo-controlled study assigned patients to (1) therapist support, (2) relaxation & imagery training, (3) cognitive-behavioral coping skills, including relaxation & imagery and (4) the control condition, treatment as usual. Subjects got 2 sessions prior to BMT treatment and twice per week booster sessions during the first 5 weeks of treatment. The study found that patients who received either the relaxation & imagery condition alone or patients who received the package of cognitive-behavioral coping skills including imagery, reported less pain than patients in the other 2 groups. However, the cognitive-behavioral skills package did not demonstrate any additional relief beyond the relaxation and imagery alone. The therapist support condition did not do significantly better than the controls. The study concludes that relaxation and imagery training reduces BMT treatment-related pain in the mucous linings of the mouth, and that adding cognitive-behavioral skills to the relaxation with imagery does not, on average, further improve pain relief.