Overview & Efficacy: Hundreds of controlled and clinical studies of various sizes, some with multiyear follow-ups, show that biofeedback can help and / or eliminate chronic pain either by rectifying the underlying problem causing the pain or by reducing stress magnifying it.

This therapy is rated as probably efficacious (level 3 on a scale of 1 - 5 with 5 being the best).

Why biofeedback would help this problem: There are many different causes of chronic pain. In many instances there is a specific problem which can be identified. In others, the body has become oversensitive to stimulation. Anxiety can also magnify pain tremendously. Psychophysiological assessments can frequently identify causes of chronic pain not diagnosable through other techniques. For example, in low back pain, they can detect abnormal patterns with which low back muscles interact with eachother as well as abnormal amounts of muscle tension - the combination of which frequently causes low back pain. Biofeedback treatments aimed at rectifying specific problems such as abnormal patterns of muscle tension in jaw muscles causing tension headaches, lack of blood-flow in the stump causing burning phantom limb pain, etc. can be very successful. Biofeedback to help people control their anxiety and, thus, reduce the overall amount of pain felt, can also be very helpful.

Brief summary of evidence supporting the efficacy of biofeedback for chronic pain:

Sherman (2004) reviewed the literature on efficacy of psychophysiological approaches to assessing chronic pain problems and of biofeedback based interventions for treating them. He has also written a comprehensive paper on the topic which is available elsewhere on this web site. Each chronic pain condition needs to be considered separately as different problems are differently amenable to psychophysiological assessment and biofeedback intervention. Each chronic pain disorder may have numerous underlying problems which result in very similar symptoms. For example, jaw area pain can be caused by problems in the jaw joint, the teeth, jaw area muscles, etc. Biofeedback is highly effective for treating pain due to jaw area muscle dysfunctions but not for problems in the joint itself. People interested in this topic may wish to read the paper by Sherman which can be reached by clicking the button below.

Detailed information on biofeedback augmented treatment of chronic pain

A. Citation to the book noted in the "brief summary":

Sherman R: Pain Assessment and Intervention from a Psychophysiological Perspective. Association for Applied Psychophysiology, Wheat Ridge Colorado, 2004. (Book)