Use of Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Pain
Kayle Sandberg-Lewis, LMT, MA, BCN-Fellow
Use of Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Pain
For decades the negative side effects of pharmacological therapies for pain management have been ignored or minimized. Only recently has the pharmacological community been taken to task for the creation of an opioid crisis. While the most notorious side effect is addiction, others include constipation, nausea, drowsiness, clouded thinking, and slowed breathing.
Great strides have been made in recognizing that the use of pharmaceuticals in the treatment of pain, especially chronic pain, has been a failure. The state of Oregon now requires all health care professionals to complete continuing education in pain management in order to renew their practitioner licenses. The training includes information about behavioral practices such as dietary changes and appropriate exercise, and alternatives to prescription drugs including massage and acupuncture. Unfortunately, an effective alternative was omitted from the training - biofeedback including neurofeedback.
While progress in educating practitioners about pain management alternatives is being made, prescribing behaviors seem to be slow to change. My chronic pain clients often complain that the medications they have been prescribed don’t address their pain at all. On the flip side, there are practitioners who simply do not understand the impact of chronic pain - clients have told me they felt dismissed when they complained about pain or have been told to “focus on something else” or “meditate it away”. Their takeaway has been that their doctors think they are being overly dramatic; that their pain is “in their heads”.
The brain is where pain resides - especially chronic pain - but when we say that pain is in the brain we are NOT saying “it’s all in your head”.
What if you could recruit your brain to deal with your pain? That is exactly what neurofeedback facilitates, primarily through “cultivated low arousal” which means your brain learns not to focus on or react to the discomfort. There are plenty of studies to show this can work.
As the title of the citation states, this author reviewed studies involving neurofeedback and cited personal experience in reporting that “Data from literature confirm high efficacy of neurofeedback in pain syndromes treatment, chronic and acute as well. Neurofeedback plays an important role in management of post stroke, post traumatic headaches and in primary headaches like tension type headaches or migraine.” [1]
In another meta-analysis of clinical trials, it was observed “Improvements in depression, anxiety, fatigue and sleep were also seen in some studies.” [2]
I use a variety of neurofeedback modalities and am happy to discuss the options. Call 503-224-0443 to schedule a free fifteen minute consultation to discuss my approach. `
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[1] Kubik A, Biedroń A. Neurofeedback therapy in patients with acute and chronic pain syndromes--literature review and own experience. Przegl Lek. 2013;70(7):440-2. PMID: 24167944.
[2] Patel K, Sutherland H, Henshaw J, Taylor JR, Brown CA, Casson AJ, Trujillo-Barreton NJ, Jones AKP, Sivan M. Effects of neurofeedback in the management of chronic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Eur J Pain. 2020 Sep;24(8):1440-1457. doi: 10.1002/ejp.1612. Epub 2020 Jun 30. PMID: 32502283.
Kayle Sandberg-Lewis holds a M.A. in Behavioral Medicine, the study of how what we do affects our well-being. She has over three decades experience in stress management and is board certified in neurofeedback, which she introduced to her practice in 1996. Kayle co-founded Hive Mind Medicine in 2019, where she currently offers neurofeedback to her clients. Telehealth consults are available.
Hive Mind Medicine blog posts are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care practitioner for personalized guidance. Click on the contact button below if you would like to schedule with one of our Hive Mind practitioners.