| 摘要: | 背景及目的：慢性疼痛是一種與生理、情緒和心理層面有關的疾病，是造成降低快樂、身體健康及生活品質的主要因子。情緒釋放技術在不同族群的研究都已經被證實可以減緩焦慮情形。所以，本研究的目的在於探討情緒釋放技術介入患有慢性疼痛的成年人，對於改善不同部位疼痛、生理反應改變與情緒反應可能的成效。 研究對象與方法：於2021年11月至2022年9月期間，共招募87位身體不同部位患有疼痛超過三個月以上，年齡介於30到64歲的受試者參與試驗。以隨機分配方式將受試者分成介入情緒釋放技術的實驗組(60名)，以及進行一般活動的對照組 (27名)。受試者除了填寫基本資料、生活型態及健康狀況等問題外，於準備階段(1)、誘導焦慮階段(2)及介入實驗階段(3)後，分別填寫情境特質焦慮量表、測量血壓(收縮壓、舒張壓及心跳)以及副交感神經活動情形(心率變異之低頻與高頻比值)。另外，也分別評估受試者頭痛、肌肉疼痛、神經類疼痛、慢性疾病疼痛和心理性疼痛程度。誘導焦慮 (2)方式是讓受試者回想他們最害怕的事件 ，實驗組則進行10分鐘的標準輕敲技術流程。研究數據將以SPSS 20.0統計軟體進行分析，比較實驗組與對照組之情緒心理與生理參數等之差異。 結果：參與本研究之受試者平均年齡為48.9歲，大多數是女性(79.3%)。研究結果顯示，大部分受試者身體健康狀況為普通(50.6%)，其中超過一半(73.6%)的人有肌肉疼痛的情形。統計分析結果發現，實驗組受試者的自覺疼痛量表中頭痛情況，在實驗完成後(階段3-1)從平均3.0分降至1.1分(降低63.3% )，降幅顯著於控制組0% (P>0.05)，神經性疼痛情況，在實驗完成 (階段3-1) 從平均3.4分降至0.7分(降低79.4%)，降幅顯著高於控制組降低-2.2 % (P>0.010)，及心理性疼痛情況，在實驗完成後(階段3)從平均2.9分降至0.7分(降低67.1% )，降幅顯著於控制組-1.4%(P>0.034)。另外，情境特質焦慮量表(階段3-1)也從39.7分降至32.5分 (共降18.1%)，與對照組僅降低-0.3%的降幅顯著較佳 (P=0.003)。但是，研究結果顯示完成實驗後的血壓和心率變異參數，實驗組與對照組並沒有顯著差異。此外，大多數的實驗組和對照組在完成實驗後，都表示他們感覺到平靜、舒服、放鬆和愉快。 結論 : 本研究結果發現，情緒釋放技術確實可以有效降低患有慢性疼痛的成年人的焦慮情形，並改善其神經性疼痛情形，未來的研究可持續進行長期的介入試驗，探討情緒釋放技術對促進成年人情緒壓力之成效。
Background and Aim： Chronic pain associated with physical, emotional, and psychological aspects is the leading cause of reducing pleasure, general health, and quality of life. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been shown to decrease anxiety in different populations. This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of EFT on different pain levels, physiological changes, and emotional response in adults with chronic pain. Methods： A total of 87 adults aged 30 to 64 years suffered from chronic pain at least three months were recruited and assigned to the intervention (EFT, N=60) and non-treatment control (CONT, N=27) groups in a randomized control trial (RCT) from November 2021 to September 2022. In addition to the demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and status of the respondents, the following parameters were measured before (stage), during (stage), and after (stage) the study intervention: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), blood pressures (diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and pulse), parasympathetic activity (the ratio of low frequency [LF] to high frequency [HF] heart rate viability [HRV]), and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for assessment of headache, muscle pain, neuropathic pain, pathological pain, and psychological pain. The anxiety induction (stage) was by asking them to think about the time that they felt most fearful and the intervention group received standard tapping procedure for 10 minutes. SPSS 20.0 statistical software was used to analyze the data. Analyses of variances were conducted to compare the scores of the above parameters between the groups. Results： The mean age of the participants was 48.9 years and female were the majority (79.3%). Results indicated that most of the respondents perceived health status to be fair (50.6%) and more than half (73.6%) of them had muscle pain. Analyzed results showed that the NRS of Headache (stage-) was significantly reduced from 3.0 to 1.1 (a total of 63.3% reduction) in the EFT group (P = 0.010 versus 0% of the control group). Neuropathic pain (stage-) was significantly reduced from 3.4 to 0.7 (a total of 79.4% reduction) and Psychological pain (stage) was significantly reduced from 2.9 to 0.7 (a total of 67.1% reduction) in the EFT group (P = 0.034 versus -1.4% of the control group). The STAI (stage-) were also notably decreased from 39.7 to 32.5 (a total of 18.1% reduction) (P = 0.003 versus -0.2%) . However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups with respect to the parameters of blood pressures and parasympathetic activities. Conclusion : Furthermore, most of the participants in the EFT group described that they felt calmed down, at ease, rested, and happy after the intervention. In conclusion, the present study found that the EFT can effectively reduce anxiety level and ameliorate the neuropathic pain in adults with chronic pain. Further study on the long-term effects of EFT in improving the emotional well-being of adults are warranted. |
