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Sound healer Chris Thorn relaxes his patients so they can manage their pain – by playing the didgeridoo.

He says Aboriginal Australians have been using the complementary technique for at least 40,000 years.

Chris, who runs the Didgeridoo Healing Centre in Acrefair, Wrexham, taught himself to play the instrument around 20 years ago.

He said: “People having sound healing with the didgeridoo were recorded using an electroencephalogram EEG.

“This showed a predominance of theta and delta brainwaves – the same as when we’re nodding off to sleep or in a dream-like state.”

It releases negative emotions

Chris, who next month will feature at the Gwrych Castle Family Entertainments Weekend near Abergele in North Wales, said this relaxed state helped release “negative emotions”.

Read this too: No sign of fall-off in complementary therapies

He maintained it was quite common for people to burst into tears when he played because of the release of these emotions.

He said cave paintings dating back 40,000 years in the Northern Territories of Australia showed people lying on the floor with broken bones while the didgeridoo is played over them.

In a YouTube video he compares his use of the didgeridoo to the use of ultrasound in hospitals to make the point that sound can be harnessed for health benefits.

Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of part of the inside of the body.

An ultrasound scan can be used to monitor an unborn baby, diagnose a condition, or guide a surgeon during certain procedures.

'It's like a sonic massage'

In the video Chris adds: “Physically it (the didgeridoo) creates a sonic massage. So whereas we’ve got ultrasound, which is high-frequency sound used in hospitals all around the world, with the didgeridoo it’s low frequency.”

Chris, who has also used other alternative techniques like reiki healing, said his sound healing sessions used the “medicine of the bee” to identify problems.

“It’s where I do a scan with the didgeridoo. That tells me where there’s a problem because it audibly changes sound.

“It’s been right 100% of the time. I can’t diagnose but it just tells me where I need to work on.”

What's the NHS view?

Complementary and alternative medicines are not widely supported by the NHS. But there is limited availability on the NHS of treatments like acupressure for reducing morning sickness and acupuncture and manual therapy for lower back pain.

More: How complementary therapy 'can help with the rollercoaster of coping with cancer'

The NHS says people who work in complementary medicine often operate outside any code of practice or system of regulation.

Chris, whose healing centre Facebook page carries six five-star reviews and one three-star, will feature at the Gwrych Castle Family Entertainments Weekend on June 4 and 5.