Research shows way to "tune out" chronic pain

Researchers from the University of Manchester in the U.K. have uncovered a method to control chronic pain by changing the frequency of waves within the forebrain.

Chronic pain effects up to 30 percent of people, with 62 percent of over the age of 75 experiencing pain. Yet with so many suffering, safe, effective treatments are lacking. Researchers at the Human Pain Research Group at the University of Manchester went to the root of the problem inside the brain to find relief.

The team studied the nerve cells and their frequency of communication to the body to develop a way to “tune” the brain to a frequency that blocks pain signals. Changing the alpha waves of the brain, located in the front of the brain, were found to be the best option for canceling out the pain signals given to the rest of the body.

Participants were given goggles that would flash light in the alpha range or would play sounds in both ears to tune the brain to a different frequency. Both methods were effective in reducing the amount of pain patients felt when tested with laser heat to the back of the arm.

"This may provide a potentially simple and safe therapy that can now be trialed in patients,” said Anthony Jones, the director of the Manchester Pain Consortium. "At recent public engagements events, we have had a lot of enthusiasm from patients for this kind of neuro-therapeutic approach."

"It is interesting that similar results were obtained with visual and auditory stimulation, which will provide some flexibility when taking this technology into patient studies,” said Chris Brown, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Liverpool. “For instance this might be particularly useful for patients having difficulty sleeping because of recurrent pain at night."