Brainwave Entrainment and Pain Control

Let me start by making perhaps a bold statement but a neurologically correct one..,

‘Physical pain is a function of the mind and not the body’.
If the signal from the affected body part is interrupted from getting to or from the brain, the pain disappears.
In fact without a signal from nerves reaching the brain to be decoded.., there is no sensation at all. This is what many pain-relieving drugs try to achieve.

Short term pain is an appropriate response by the body/mind to let you know that something is wrong and/or to remove yourself from the cause of the pain.
What happens though when the pain continues and becomes chronic? IE: what happens when the pain goes beyond a short term signal and becomes a long term suffering even though healing is taking place or in some cases has already finished?

BWE (Brainwave Entrainment), seems to have some promise and positive research results showing pain relief in a non-invasive and drug-free way.
And let’s face it.., if you are in pain, then anything requiring effort is a big ask. This is where BWE can be so useful because you don’t have to do anything as far as effort beyond turning the device on.

In this article, I will outline a few of the idea’s around using this technology and a couple of testimonials of people using the PandoraStar deep trance machine with amazing results in pain relief.
It’s important to know that not all pain is the same and there is more than one protocol that can be followed to get results in pain control and relief using BWE.
Owners of PandoraStar have at least three custom made programs to help with pain.
HEADCALM
PAINFREE
PAINFREE-2
It is also important to know that although I have included some peer-reviewed research here to back up the use of BWE for pain relief.., the amount of research supporting alternative ways of treating health problems is sadly lacking. Non-drug related methods for health and wellbeing get very little funding or attention (at least initially) compared to a new pill that you can take. No judgement made or implied in that statement. I support anything that helps people feel better. I’m simply pointing out that a certain amount of responsibility needs to be taken by all of us to explore, with your doctors agreement, other ways of helping yourself that may not be well known if your current treatment is not giving you the results you desire.
Again.., no claim is made here of medical benefit. That is up to you to decide if you want to explore. But do know that I would not be writing about this subject at all if I had not seen first hand some near-miraculous results from this technology.

Theta brainwaves and pain intensity:

Recent findings with EEG brainwave measuring technology shows that at least for chronic pain, there is a correlation with an increase in Theta brain activity. In fact, by measuring the amount of Theta brainwave levels in a persons brain, doctors are able to get more accurate feedback than any other current method about the intensity of pain a person is feeling and a significant reduction is false-positive results.
This then allows doctors to prescribe the right amount of medication.
This does not, of course, make Theta brainwaves bad. It is simply an indication as far as BWE is concerned that for pain relief they are unlikely to be useful and potentially maybe the opposite in that they should be avoided. This is purely a logical conclusion and not necessarily accurate. And in fact, if you look you will find study results of using Theta entrainment to reduce pain. Again, there is no one size fits all solution.
Below is a typical study showing this relationship between pain and Theta waves:

Theta brainwaves and pain intensity:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-34594-2

Alpha stimulation and pain relief:

More common as a useful frequency for pain relief seems to be in the Alpha range. 10Hz being the sweet spot in some studies.
This Alpha range of frequencies (and in particular the middle 10 Hz frequency) gets more attention than any other frequency range for a number of potential mental and/or physical benefits.
Why? Because it’s one of the most easy places for the brain to get to when someone closes their eyes and begins to relax. It shows up quickly on EEG tests and a lack of Alpha has been shown in many cases to be an indicator of cognitive challenges.
For example, people who have had head trauma or are prone to anxiety or stress often have little Alpha brain activity. Studies with alcoholics and people with PTSD also show that by increasing the amount of Alpha waves in their brains, symptoms improve dramatically and levels of personal control also increase.
Stress-related hormones like Cortisol and Beta-Endorphins have been shown to respond positively to Alpha brainwave stimulation.
It is, of course, true to say that ANY method of relaxing more can be beneficial to reducing pain.
And in the case of Alpha, being that it is an easier brainwave state to entrain/synchronise with than some of the others, makes it an ideal choice for someone to use.
Below is a typical Alpha study on pain relief that shows an analgesic effect of external Alpha stimulation with a 10-minute treatment. The strongest effect was found in the group that used 10Hz photic/light stimulation.

Alpha stimulation and pain relief.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejp.960

Sub and low Delta/Epsilon frequencies:

There seems to be a soothing effect by entraining to sub-Delta/Epsilon (< 1Hz) and low Delta (1-3Hz) frequencies in some research.
The super-slow brainwaves (<1Hz) seem to have the ability also to jump breaks in neuronal connection and act like a driver for higher frequencies. Very hard to measure, but low frequencies like those under 1Hz have an apparent feedback/feed-forward connection with super high frequencies of about 200Hz plus often referred to as Lambda frequencies. So contrary to logic, people using super high frequencies like this often report very deep feelings of relaxation and comfort rather than stimulation.
This effect is most powerfully experienced by PandoraStar users in the program called TIBET.
Not surprisingly, a lack of deep levels of this Delta brain activity due to bad sleep patterns has been shown to increase pain including headaches and Fibromyalgia.
And interestingly, people on morphine, when measured with EEG, show the biggest change in the Delta range of 2-4 Hz. Again, slow-wave brain rhythms seem to correlate with comfort.
In one of the studies below, 18 out of 20 people experienced less pain during a usually extremely uncomfortable and painful Endoscopic procedure by using Photic slow wave stimulation.
Drugs are usually used in this procedure but the side effects of the drugs can be pretty unpleasant.
In the second study below, 24 out of 27 patients received complete headache or migraine relief after just 5 minutes of visual slow-wave treatment. None of the control group using a placebo treatment got any relief at all.

Slow-wave stimulation and pain relief:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16706812

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1526-4610.1985.hed2508444.x

Gamma and pain relief:

What about Gamma?
This is also interesting for a number of reasons.
There seems to be growing evidence that there are a feed-back AND feed-forward relationship between Gamma frequencies and lower frequencies as well. IE: They control and/or magnify each other working in synchrony.
Hypnosis states, for example, show an effect called Theta Gamma coupling where the two types of wave interact with each other.
The use of Gamma in the treatment of migraine is covered below but in general, it seems that when people in pain are given a choice of frequencies, they opt for faster ones in the Gamma range more often than slower ones.
My suspicion is that this is in part helped by the nearly imperceptible flicker rate on the eyes at that speed. The results are clear that it helps a large proportion of the people who use it though.
Interestingly in the study below, of the 50 participants in the study suffering from Fibromyalgia (which is an incredibly uncomfortable and painful condition), there was a significant reduction in the severity of symptoms in both the control group and the treatment group. Normally this would mean a fail in the test, but in this case, the control group was still given Gamma stimulation but it was random instead of a steady frequency as in the treatment group.
It would seem possible then (as the researchers allude to) that the positive benefits of Gamma on pain relief are not limited to one frequency.
Other studies on Gamma and pain relief support this idea also by using differing frequencies than this particular one in their studies.

Gamma and Fibromyalgia:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30822311

MIGRAINE and brainwave entrainment:

Of the studies done for migraine, most used a variable frequency device where the user could choose the frequency. It was noted that almost all users chose a higher frequency and that this choice gave faster relief.

Brain hemisphere synchronisation and Migraine.

In the case of Migraine headaches (and potentially cluster headaches and PMS pain), there seems to be evidence that it’s the over-synchronisation of the two sides of the brain (like what happens in a seizure) that is one of the observable effects of this type of pain.
Therefore in this case logic would say to try to de-synchronise the brain instead.
This is most easily done with photic BWE by covering one eye to stop stimulation to one hemisphere/side of the brain.
Better still would be to do this for each eye in turn. IE: Cover one eye only for about 10min then cover the opposite eye only for about 10min.
And in fact, this has been shown to be effective.
The first study linked below shows on average a 44-53% reduction in the frequency of attacks after 30 days of Gamma use.
In the second study, using variable frequency (again where Gamma was the frequency most chosen), out of 50 migraines reported while the study was active, 49 were helped and 36 were stopped completely. The duration of pain decreased in time in all cases, and also there was a reduction in the frequency of migraines over time.
The third is an example of how hyper synchronisation may be a cause of headache and migraine. This particular study actually used flashing light to induce a migraine in light-sensitive people and what they noticed was that there was an over synchronisation of areas of the brain. By comparison, the non-migraine suffering group had a de-synchronisation of those same brain areas.

[NOTE: Flashing light can be a cause of Migraine for some people so use your intuition and feedback on how to or if to use photic stimulation to then be a form of treatment for it. Covering one eye will minimise the chance of any increase of an existing migraine though and in my personal experience is worth experimenting with.]

Gamma and Migraine:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11858471

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2708044

Brain synchronisation can cause a headache:
https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200405/migraines.cfm

PMS relief:

Not something that I as a male will ever experience but the evidence is there that BWE is a valid non-drug way to potentially relieve this type of pain. And being that for a lot of women this is, of course, something that they have to face every month then the potential here is huge.
Just read the related testimonial of one of our PandoraStar users below to see how dramatic and quick the results can be with hormonal discomfort.
This, like with migraine headaches is one example of pain that can sometimes be more effectively relieved by stimulating one eye at a time although the most commonly standard practice of both eyes at once is effective.
The study below shows the results of women with long-standing and severe symptoms of PMS.
They used a self-controlled frequency rate device with flickering LED’s for on average 17 minutes a day.
This group got on average a 76% reduction in pain, with significant reductions in associated depression, mood swings, food cravings etc. 71% no longer had symptoms at all. This result is greater than the current most popular medication or relaxation techniques and any expected placebo result which is typically 10-30%.

PMS relief with photic stimulation:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15511777

SMR frequencies and pain relief:

SMR stands for Sensorimotor Rhythms and is characterised by the frequency range of 12-15 Hz.
SMR is, along with Alpha, one of the most studied ranges of brain frequency for mental and physical health benefits and is known as the idling frequency. Kind of like the balance point between inactive relaxation and active thought and movement.
Surprisingly, it is one range of frequencies that is underactive in many people along with the Alpha frequencies.
SMR is a type of relaxed alertness and many studies including biofeedback have shown that entraining the brain to SMR frequencies has positive effects on pain, sleeping better, anxiety, mental clarity and more.
Fibromyalgia (FMS Fibromyalgia syndrome – All over body pain with tiredness and sometimes chronic fatigue) is one area of research focus that has shown promise with SMR entrainment as well as low Delta entrainment.
In the following biofeedback study, training with SMR frequencies reduced pain more than one of the current popular drug treatments.

Fibromyalgia relief from SMR training:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20614235

Why would Brainwave Entrainment help with pain?

So it seems there is evidence to suggest BWE could be a useful alternative for pain relief.
Why?
There are a few theories but none that are absolutely proven yet.
Unfortunately, as I’ve said before, with many non-drug related health protocols, funding and interest is not what it could be for these type of alternative treatments.
Placebo has been ruled out as the only effect in most of these studies as the results are above what a placebo would produce.
Deep relaxation is certainly one possibility as most long term meditators would confirm but even the results of relaxation do not get high percentages like the above studies show.
Distraction is another. In fact, both distracting your attention from, or increasing your attention to, can have positive effects on pain sensations.
And brain synchronisation or de-synchronisation is another possibility.
Increased cerebral blood flow is a possibility also (something that BWE does produce).
ANY interruption to the current brainwave state and neuronal firing during a pain state is likely to have an effect on what signals are processed or what strength a signal has. And like I said at the beginning of this article.., ‘Pain is experienced in the brain and not the body’. How else can you explain for example phantom limb pain where the body part is gone but the person still feels pain in the missing body part. Often the successful and lasting treatment for phantom limb pain is a psychological one and not a chemical one.
Then there are the specific frequencies used and how they affect the brain, it’s signal processing and the production or inhibition of hormones like serotonin and Beta Endorphins.
For example, Alpha is well known as a kind of in-between state where the brain is almost in pause mode and brain signalling is calm. Delta has been more recently found to be the brain state where the brain relaxes and actually increases the space between the neurons. Gamma is known for its beneficial effect on the brains microglia immune system. SMR is like being ready for anything but relaxed too.

I suspect that all of the above are in part responsible for the ability of BWE to reduce or eliminate pain.
In fact, ANY change to your current state of mind in relation to pain is worth exploring and has the potential to help.
Isn’t that the definition of intelligent effort? IE: If something isn’t working then try something else.., ANYthing else!
What’s important here is that people do get positive results and even sometimes miraculous ones.
And the community of PandoraStar owners and commercial users have many stories of people gaining back a higher quality of life and both physical and mental comfort by using BWE and in this case photic/visual stimulation.

I encourage you to find someone near you to try BWE for yourself to see if you are also one of those to get benefit from using the technology.
And the benefits certainly do not stop at pain control.
Neither does the help with pain stop at physical pain. As is indicated in the testimonial above.
But that is another subject.

May you be pain-free in every way.

Lance

[NOTE: Nothing written here is a claim of medical or therapeutic benefits to using PandoraStar or other entrainment technology; rather it is based on the first-hand experience of many owners of such technology, and on research papers that suggest it can be used beneficially that way. Any use for other than entertainment and exploration purposes and we strongly recommend you do so with medical supervision and/or advice. Especially where prescribed medication may negatively affect your response to light stimulation]