Hi Bjoern,

I'm in South Florida, but I don't do anything that you can't find near where you live. In fact, you could learn to do it at home with relatively inexpensive equipment. While it is a bit of a time investment, I think mindfulness meditation, Qi Gong, and neurofeedback are all therapies that should be considered by everyone suffering from anxiety, as anxiety simply is a disregulation in way the brain perceives stressful stimuli.

It is my hypothesis that most, if not all, of the individuals with RSD/CRPS suffer from chronic anxiety and perseverative thoughts that cause the sympathetic nervous system to always be on high alert. Any area that is damaged, whether it be from a spider bite, or a fracture, has to be repaired and remapped in the brain. As the body sends out osteoclasts and osteoblasts to remodel bone in a fracture, the sensory pathways going to and from the area to the brain must also be remapped.

If someone has an inappropriately elevated level of sympathetic tone, their perception of pain will be different than someone who does not. Sympathetic tone modulates the limbic (emotional) structures in the brain, and the limbic structures in the brain serve as amplifiers for pain processes that are triggered by nociceptive stimuli. Nociceptors (pain receptors) simply send a signal to the brain telling the individual that a painful stimulus has been elicited. This is why meditation and Qi Gong can be so helpful with this type of condition, as they allow the brain to shut down extraneous chatter, and to simply focus on the moment.

Alpha training has been used on many individuals and has quite an impressive track record. Look up Eugene Peniston's studies on alpha training and alcoholics from 1989. There are many types of training protocols that exist, however, and alpha may or may not be the best approach for you. If you want to know more information, you can send me a private message through here and I will be more than willing to help you find someone near you.

Neurofeedback can calm down parts of the CNS, it is true, but so can mindfulness meditation and Qi Gong. I would explore that avenue first, since they are inexpensive, and if you do not find relief there, then explore neurofeedback.

-Jonathan