Beats For Pain?

You'd think I'd have heard of a phenomena 180 years old, but here I am, learning.  Thanks, Harmoni 8)

The phenomenon I'm writing about is binaural beats.  We're all familiar with two slightly different musical notes creating a 'beat' which is caused by the two tones interfering with each other.  A fellow named Heinrich Dove first discovered the patterns, but it was simply a curiousity until some other fellow named Gerald Oster worked out that there seemed to be promise of medical use in binaural beats.

What Oster saw was possible correlation with an ability to detect these sounds and physical conditions.  He found certain beats couldn't be detected by subjects with Parkinson's Disease, and women subject's ability to detect certain beats varied with their menstrual cycle.  While many other diagnostic and therapeutic uses were investigated, binaural beats haven't entered mainstream medicine.  However, there are many (mostly undocumented) claims now of more useful effects.

As the brain works to percieve two slightly different low-frequency tones, a binaural beat is also detected.  With extended exposure, the brain begins to synchronize with this beat, actually altering the signals detected by EEGs.  This is called brain wave entrainment.  We already know meditation can alter brain waves, which can lead to health benefits.  Brain wave entrainment can target specific brain wave patterns, such as Theta or Alpha waves, producing specific results such as relaxation or alertness.  Another claim is that binaural beats can activate regions of the brain controlling the release of pain control hormones like beta-endorphine and dopamine. 

We are going to try this at home.  I bought some tracks from Amazon with pain control claims and my Wife will see how this works on her chronic back pain.  If you want to know more, this Wikipedia article is a good start.  If you already know more, I invite you to share what you can in comments below.