Chronic pain:
“living with it” is not a diagnosis
Chronic pain often no longer sits in the tissue but in the nervous system that processes it. There it can be measured, and there it can be addressed. “You will have to live with it” describes the limits of a method, not yours.
- Free
- No obligation
- Reply within 2 business days
- Outpatient · Bad Aibling
- Non-invasive
Free & non-binding · usually a reply within 2 business days · confidential
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When pain becomes a constant companion, it costs more than strength: sleep, mood, mobility, a part of you. Perhaps you have been through countless examinations, medications and therapies and heard again and again that nothing can be found. We believe your pain. And we look at where it is processed.
About one in five adults lives with chronic pain; it is among the most common causes of long-term disability worldwide.
Symptoms have a map
With persistent pain the nervous system changes: pain-processing networks become sensitised and signal pain even without a clear trigger (central sensitisation). Involved are the sensorimotor network, the salience network, which appraises stimuli as threatening, and the limbic network. Two systems keep this sensitisation running. The autonomic nervous system: constant pain keeps the sympathetic side up, heart rate variability drops, and a body on alert amplifies every pain signal; that is why we measure heart rate variability, and why the vagus nerve is a point of entry. And sleep: a single bad night measurably lowers the pain threshold, pain in turn disturbs sleep, and the circle closes; that is why sleep is treated before we judge any stimulation. A physician interprets this; imaging and a neurological examination rule out structural causes.
For an overview of the six brain networks and a first orientation, see the Brain Network Analysis.
The assessment first, then your program.
Everything begins with a structured assessment: history and pain diary, existing findings and imaging, questionnaires on pain, sleep and mood, clinical and neurological examination, heart rate variability, lab work where needed. A qEEG brain mapping is added when we need to know how your brain processes pain before we stimulate there. From this your program takes shape. Neuromodulation is one building block in it: rTMS over the motor cortex and tDCS are among the best-studied methods for chronic pain, neurofeedback and taVNS train self-regulation and vagal tone. Beside it stand sleep, dosed movement and psychological pain support, outpatient and under the roof of Clinicum St. Georg. Painkillers and all other medication are changed only together with the physician who prescribed them.
Our aim stays the same: to restore functional balance, with as little medication as possible and a life with high quality of life as the measure.
You don’t have to decide anything today. A 15 to 20 minute conversation is enough to know whether an assessment is worth it for you.
Free & non-binding · usually a reply within 2 business days · confidential
Who it is for, and who it is not for
A good fit if …
- Medication or therapy has not been enough so far
- You are looking for a measurement-based, non-invasive path
- You are open to outpatient treatment in Bad Aibling
Less suitable if …
- You expect a purely remote or online treatment without on-site diagnostics
- You expect a guarantee — serious medicine cannot give one
In an acute crisis or having suicidal thoughts? Please seek immediate medical or emergency help — in Germany call 112, or the free 24/7 helpline Telefonseelsorge 0800 111 0 111.
The first consultation is free. We discuss the scope, duration and cost of any program openly afterwards, outpatient, here in Bad Aibling.
What the research shows
Peer-reviewed work on Chronic Pain and the relevant procedures, graded by evidence level. No study proves an individual outcome.
In short: for some procedures the evidence is solid, for others still early. Where your case stands is settled in the assessment, and the program follows from it.
Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain — Cochrane systematic review
Pharmacotherapy and non-invasive neuromodulation for neuropathic pain — systematic review & meta-analysis
Add-on non-invasive brain stimulation in fibromyalgia — meta-analysis of RCTs
tDCS on pain intensity in fibromyalgia — systematic review & meta-analysis
Non-invasive electrical brain stimulation in fibromyalgia — systematic review & meta-analysis
Neurofeedback in the management of chronic pain — systematic review & meta-analysis of clinical trials
Analgesic effect of EEG neurofeedback for chronic pain — systematic review & meta-analysis
Effects of neurofeedback on fibromyalgia — randomized controlled trial
EMG- and EEG-biofeedback in fibromyalgia syndrome — meta-analysis & systematic review of RCTs
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation for chronic pain — systematic review & meta-analysis
More studies across all conditions: Science & Studies.
Meta-analyses show moderate relief from rTMS and tDCS in chronic pain, for many people, not for all and to varying degrees. How your pain system is set is what the assessment shows, and that is where the program starts.
A real doctor. A real clinic.
Dr. med. univ. Julian Douwes · Medical Director
Part of Clinicum St. Georg, under the medical direction of Dr. med. univ. Julian Douwes. Outpatient, evidence-graded, without medication as the first step — tailored to your profile. More on our program.
- 30+ Years of clinical heritage
- 90+ Countries patients travel from
- 30,000+ Treatment sessions delivered
In three calm steps
Chronic Pain: let’s talk about your path.
In a free consultation we clarify whether and how our measured program could fit you — no obligation, fully confidential.
Free & non-binding · usually a reply within 2 business days · confidential