David Bridges
In a groundbreaking clinical trial, individuals suffering from chronic nerve pain experienced significant relief through an innovative interactive game designed to help them modify their own brainwaves. The encouraging findings from this research could pave the way for a new class of drug-free pain management therapies, highlighting the potential of non-pharmaceutical approaches in treating chronic conditions.
A team of researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, spearheaded the development of PainWaive—a novel training system aimed at teaching users how to regulate the abnormal brain activity associated with chronic nerve pain. This system presents an exciting option for at-home, non-invasive alternatives to traditional opioid medications. The findings, published in The Journal of Pain in April, revealed that three out of four participants reported significant pain reduction five weeks after their final treatment session.
The PainWaive system integrates an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset that monitors brain activity with a user-friendly app that guides patients in controlling their brainwaves through engaging neurofeedback games. According to a statement from UNSW, four participants suffering from corneal neuropathic pain—a debilitating condition characterized by painful hypersensitivity in the eyes, face, or head—completed 20 sessions of PainWaive over a four-week period, marking a significant step towards innovative pain relief solutions.
The root causes of corneal neuropathic pain remain largely unknown, and existing treatments often fail to provide relief, as noted by the researchers. Nevertheless, they postulated that modifying the brainwave patterns typically linked with nerve pain could lead to substantial improvements in patient outcomes.
“Individuals experiencing neuropathic pain display a distinctive pattern in their brainwaves: an increase in slow theta waves, a decrease in alpha waves, and a rise in fast, high beta waves,” explained co-lead author Sylvia Gustin, a clinical psychologist and professor at UNSW. Her research has focused on changes occurring in the thalamus—a central part of the brain responsible for relaying sensory and motor signals—associated with persistent nerve pain.
“We believe that these changes may disrupt communication between the thalamus and other brain regions, particularly the sensory motor cortex, which is responsible for the perception of pain,” she elaborated. “This prompted me to consider whether we could devise a treatment that directly targets and normalizes these abnormal brainwave patterns.”
This inquiry ultimately led to the creation and initial clinical trial of PainWaive. For this study, Gustin and her team provided four participants with comprehensive kits that included an EEG headset along with a tablet pre-loaded with the game application. Additionally, participants received personalized guidance on mental techniques aimed at helping them transition their brainwaves from an aberrant to a normal state, incorporating relaxation methods and cognitive strategies.
The research team meticulously evaluated the participants’ corneal neuropathic pain symptoms both immediately following the use of PainWaive and five weeks after the treatment concluded. During follow-up sessions, participants were encouraged to continue practicing the brainwave modulation techniques they learned throughout the training. The results indicated that three of the four participants experienced pain relief that was comparable to or even exceeded the efficacy of conventional opioid analgesics, as reported by UNSW.
While these preliminary findings appear promising, additional clinical trials are necessary to verify the safety and effectiveness of PainWaive. “The limitations of our study’s size, design, and duration hinder our ability to generalize our findings or eliminate the possibility of placebo effects,” noted co-lead author Negin Hesam-Shariati, a researcher affiliated with UNSW’s NeuroRecovery Research Hub. “Nevertheless, the results we have observed are encouraging and inspire confidence as we prepare to advance to the next phase and conduct a larger trial.”
Currently, Hesam-Shariati and her colleagues are actively recruiting participants for two forthcoming trials aimed at exploring PainWaive’s effectiveness in alleviating chronic spinal pain and chronic nerve pain among individuals with spinal cord injuries.
The development of non-drug-based pain management solutions is critical in addressing the ongoing opioid crisis. In the United States, opioid-related fatalities have shown a notable decline in recent years, with preliminary data indicating a 24% reduction between 2023 and 2024. However, the demand for more non-opioid pain management options remains pressing and urgent.
Hesam-Shariati, Gustin, and their team remain hopeful that as PainWaive progresses through clinical evaluation, it will meet the essential criteria for effective pain management. “Having ownership of the technology gives us the potential to eventually offer PainWaive as a genuinely affordable and accessible solution for at-home pain management, particularly for individuals who have limited access to conventional treatments,” Gustin concluded.
Ethan Carter
Daniel Mercer
