A new way of treating chronic pain?

Chronic pain may affect 1 in 5 of our population and may be due to a variety of factors including arthritis, trauma and degenerative disease. We commonly see patients in our clinics who have chronic pain due to hip and knee arthritis, back pain due to trauma, headaches, migraines and pain following surgical procedures. These can be challenging to treat and often medications are limited in their beneficial effects and may have unwanted side effects. Surgery can have limited effect, may not be indicated or in some cases may actually make pain worse!

In a world first study, local researchers at our own Waitemata DHB and AUT are conducting a study looking at how our brain waves can alter pain perception and management. The study trains subjects to alter their brain activity in response to a wearable EEG headset and visualising their response on an ipad. The study runs in 2 parts and will take one year to complete. It has national ethics committee approval and has already recruited over 40 participants. If you have persistent pain at any site which is moderate to severe in nature and been present for over 3 months you may be eligible to take part.

If you would like further information email trials@exsurgo.com.

‍