Alternative Ways to Manage Pain Studied at St. John’s Mercy Heart and Vascular Hospital

PR Log (Press Release) – Aug 17, 2009 – St. John’s Mercy Research Institute is beginning a study to gauge how effective alternative therapies are at reducing pain, nausea and anxiety levels after heart surgery. Recovery from open-heart surgery can be painful and conventional medications may reduce a patient’s ability to function, keeping these patients off their feet longer leading to a slower recovery.

Medical acupuncture, therapeutic massage and healing touch will be tested. These therapies have been used in some inpatient settings for about two years and at St. John’s Mercy’s outpatient holistic health services for about seven.

“We know these therapies work – we’ve seen some phenomenal outcomes,” said Michelle Smith, D.C., manager of holistic health services at St. John’s Mercy. “Now we want to quantify how well they work.”

About 100 patients will be enrolled in the study over the next six months. The study will look at the number of patients who request medication after alternative therapies, as well as the length of stay with alternative therapies versus conventional medication on days 1 to 3 post-surgery. No patient will be refused medication if they need it.

The hope is to improve the scientific basis of these therapies by gaining evidence to support the efficacy. Smith adds: “We may even begin to open the door to getting these therapies covered by insurance. Overall, our hope is that the less medication we use, the fewer side effects we’ll see. We hope patients will feel better and be more relaxed so we can get them moving and on the road to healing sooner.”