Table 2.
Overview of neurofeedback studies on chronic pain management: types and effectiveness.
| Pain condition | Study | Design | Main details | Neurofeedback type | Effectiveness level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fibromyalgia | Kayiran et al. (2010) | Randomized controlled trial (RCT) | Effectiveness of EEG biofeedback in reducing pain in fibromyalgia syndrome. | EEG biofeedback | Promising |
| Linden (2012) | Pilot study | Preliminary success of neurofeedback targeting specific brain regions in fibromyalgia. | Targeted neurofeedback | Preliminary success | |
| Lee et al. (2014) and Terrasa et al. (2020) | RCT, systematic review | Biofeedback and LENS more effective than sham/placebo in reducing fibromyalgia pain. | EEG biofeedback, LENS | More effective than sham | |
| Fuentes-García et al. (2019) | Observational study | Evidence on the utility of neurofeedback in improving psychological symptoms, quality of life, and pain in fibromyalgia. | EEG biofeedback | Effective | |
| Tension-type headache | Arina et al. (2022) | Cross-over sham-controlled study | Cross-over sham-controlled study on the efficacy of neurofeedback in prevention. | Infra-low frequency neurofeedback | Promising |
| Stokes and Lappin (2010) and Walker (2011) | RCT | Efficiency of QEEG-guided neurofeedback in reducing headache frequency. | QEEG-guided neurofeedback | Effective | |
| Bentivegna et al. (2021) | Review | Highlights the importance of personalized approaches in TTH management. | Personalized neurofeedback | Suggested improvement | |
| Chronic low back pain | Shimizu et al. (2022) | Intervention study | Intervention study combining alpha-wave neurofeedback training with conventional treatments. | Alpha-wave neurofeedback | Clinically meaningful effect |
| Roy et al. (2020) | Observational study | Emphasizes the potential of neurofeedback in pain management, linking neurophysiological abnormalities to pain. | General neurofeedback | Potential | |
| Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) | Hassan et al. (2015) | Pilot study | Neurofeedback training leads to short-term improvements in pain relief and non-pain-associated symptoms. | General neurofeedback | Short-term improvements |
| Central neuropathic pain in paraplegia | Vuckovic et al. (2019) | Experimental study | Investigating the potential mechanism of neurofeedback training on central neuropathic pain and its brain signatures. | EEG-based neurofeedback | Promising |
| Anil et al. (2022) | Observational study | Importance of self-efficacy and negative affect for neurofeedback success for central neuropathic pain post-SCI. | EEG-based neurofeedback | Key factor for success | |
| Hasan et al. (2016) | Longitudinal study | Long-term neurofeedback reduces CNP and cortical overactivity in painful paraplegia. | EEG-based neurofeedback | Effective | |
| Cancer pain | Hesam-Shariati et al. (2022) | Systematic review and meta-analysis | Focus on studies examining the impact of neurofeedback on chronic pain, including fibromyalgia and cancer-related pain. | EEG neurofeedback | Varied effectiveness |
| Luctkar-Flude and Groll (2015) and Luctkar-Flude et al. (2019) | Systematic review | Discussion on insufficient evidence of neurofeedback efficacy in relieving symptoms like fatigue and cognitive disorders in cancer survivors. | Neurofeedback | Insufficient evidence |