At Home Neurofeedback for Fibromyalgia: Relieving the Pain Without the Drive.

January 3, 2012   ·   By David A. Mayen, Founder/CEO   ·   No Comments   ·   Posted in Home Page Enabled, Sleep Disorders

A recent study performed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology has shown a strong correlation between long term sleep deprivation and fibromyalgia. In the report women, ages 20 to 44, who “often”or “always”  had problems with sleeping were at three times greater risk of developing fibromyalgia than their counterparts who didn’t have trouble with sleep. And if a test subjects were 45 or older, the risk went up to five fold.

The other difficult challenge for fibromyalgia sufferers is finding treatments that provide any relief from the daily pain or that can improve their sleep quality without the use of sleeping pills.

One such treatment that is showing promise is called neurofeedback. “Even though fibromyalgia is thought to be an auto-immune dysfunction, there is also a strong brainwave or bio-electrical component in play as well.” Says Dr. David Dubin, medical director of the Sleep Recovery Centers, Inc. “Whats more, these people are usually in so much physical pain that the task of actually driving in a car to a neurofeedback appointment is excruciating”.

This is where at home neurofeedback has a distinct advantage. Treatment sessions are conducted by certified neurofeedback technicians and medically supervised–all within the patients home via a WiFi connection. Another study concluded that the use of neurofeedback for fibromylgia showed, [clinical] “data supports the efficacy of NFB as a treatment for pain, psychological symptoms and impaired quality of life associated with fibromyalgia”

Although the is no current clinical evidence that proves fibromylgia is caused by chronic insomnia, it is commonly thought by many sufferers that years of not sleeping properly was a precursor to developing the symptoms associated with the syndrome. And most report the their pain is reduced when even a few nights of good sleep can be achieved.

Another plus of neurofeedback is it’s ability to help restore cognitive abilities and reduce the symptoms of “fibro-fog”. It’s not known exactly what about fibromylgia causes this cognitive fog, but anecdotal research points to it being aggravated by non-restorative sleep, strong emotions, stress, excessive activity and too much sensory input.

Fibro-fog and chemo-fog after cancer treatment also seem to have quite a bit in common as well. Both patient populations report cognitive decline, loss of quality rest and depression challenges.  A 2010 study done on cancer survivors stated that, “Patients using neurofeedback showed significant improvement, over the course of 3 testing phases, in cognitive function, quality of life, perceived impairment, [less] use of sleep medications and depression. Improvements were generally maintained during follow-up testing”.

With the scientific evidence mounting on how at home neurofeedback can greatly help relieve the symptoms of fibromylgia and the associated insomnia problems that comes with it, it makes sense to consider doing further research on making it more available and more affordable.

David A. Mayen and David Dubin, MD are the founders of Sleep Recovery Centers, Inc. A specialty neurofeedback practice devoted to treating the symptoms of chronic insomnia without the use of sleeping pills.