Your rTMS Treatment for Chronic Pain: What to Expect
Chronic pain is one of the most undertreated conditions in modern medicine. Fibromyalgia alone affects an estimated 1 in 20 people in the UK.
Conventional approaches such as medication, physiotherapy and pain management programmes have an important role to play, and for many they bring meaningful relief. For a significant number of people, the pain persists.
Naya was built for that gap: precision neuromodulation, rewiring the brain at its root, guided by objective measurement from the first session to the last.
rTMS for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain: Precision Neuromodulation for Every Presentation
FAQ
How can rTMS help with fibromyalgia pain and fatigue?
Fibromyalgia involves central sensitisation, a state in which the brain's pain processing networks become persistently overactive, amplifying signals across the body. rTMS works directly at those networks, targeting the prefrontal circuits involved in pain regulation and gradually recalibrating how the brain processes pain. Alongside pain, many patients report improvements in fatigue, mood and cognitive clarity, reflecting the shared neural circuits involved across all three.
How many rTMS sessions will I need for fibromyalgia?
Most people complete a course of up to 20 sessions, each lasting around 30 minutes. With multiple sessions possible in a single day, some complete their course in as little as a week. Others spread treatment over several weeks. Your protocol is personalised from the outset and refined throughout - your clinical team will guide you based on how your brain is responding.
How long does pain relief from rTMS last for fibromyalgia?
Response varies by individual, but research suggests that improvements in pain and symptom burden can persist for several weeks to months following a course of rTMS. For those whose symptoms return over time, top-up sessions may help to restore relief. At Naya, your clinical team will advise on whether a maintenance protocol is appropriate for you.
What is neurocardiac-guided rTMS?
The neural pathways governing pain perception, stress and emotional regulation are closely connected to cardiac function, and in chronic pain and fibromyalgia this system is often dysregulated. By measuring heart rate response across multiple stimulation sites, Naya identifies the precise target that most effectively engages each individual's regulatory brain network. This approach is most relevant for conditions involving autonomic dysregulation. Naya is currently the only clinic in the UK offering neurocardiac-guided rTMS.
What are non-drug treatments for fibromyalgia pain in the UK?
Several non-drug approaches to fibromyalgia are available in the UK, including physiotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, graded exercise and mindfulness-based programmes. rTMS is the only approach that works directly at the neural circuits driving the condition, using gentle magnetic pulses to recalibrate the brain's pain-processing networks at their root. It is non-invasive, requires no recovery time, and is available privately at Naya Health in London.
Is rTMS safe, and are there side effects?
rTMS is extremely safe and well tolerated. It is non-invasive, requires no anaesthesia, and has no systemic side effects. Where side effects occur, they are mild and transient; the most commonly reported is a mild headache on the night of treatment, or some fatigue, both of which settle quickly. The only clinically significant risk is seizure, occurring in fewer than 0.0016% of treatments. It has never occurred at Naya Health.