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Biofeedback Therapy
Define Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a training technique that enables a person to gain some element of voluntary control over autonomic body functions such as heart rate, blood flow and brain waves. It is a new branch of complementary and alternative medicine that is winning appreciation in popular and scientific circles.
Physical biofeedback therapists use biofeedback to help stroke victims regain movement in paralyzed muscles. Psychologists use it to help tense and anxious clients learn to relax. Specialists in many different fields use biofeedback to help their patients cope with pain.
Neal Miller, a psychology Ph.D and neuroscientist who worked and studied at Yale University, is generally considered to be the father of modern-day biofeedback
Biofeedback Principle
Biofeedback is governed on the principle that human beings have an intrinsic ability and potential to influence the automatic functions of their bodies through the application of will and mind. Recently it has been shown that biofeedback gives previously unimagined degree of control over a wide variety of physiological events related to body.
Types of Biofeedback machines
The types of biofeedback machines and biofeedback techniques are :
- Electromyogram: Measures muscle tension and provide relaxation when they have become too tensed due to stress
- Temperature Biofeedback: Monitors skin temperature and promotes relaxation
- Galvanic Skin Response or Electrodermal Response: Measures electrical conductance in the skin. It is effective in treating phobias, anxiety, excessive sweating, and, at times, stuttering. Athletes found it useful in game stress management
- Electroencephalogram : This device monitors brain wave activity
Biofeedback has been found successful in treatment of following syndromes
- Stress
- Anxiety Disorders
- Back Pain
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Tinnitus
- Endometriosis
- Menopause
- Migraine
- Insomnia
Applications of Biofeedback
- The techniques used in biofeedback have been put to various clinical trials and have shown remarkable degree of success in reliving patients from their stress and pain.
- Many researchers have reported promising results with asthma patients, pointing out that spasms of the airway passages involve muscular contractions, and that these muscular actions are amenable to relaxation training.
- Many people suffering from headaches and chronic pain resulting from injuries or operations have learned to greatly reduce their dependency on drugs and sometimes give them up completely by use of biofeedback.
- In an experiment with six patients with cerebral palsy, biofeedback training enabled all six to relax sufficiently to improve both fine and gross motor coordination. Four of the six also improved their speech, and a subsequent study confirmed these findings.
Safety and Precaution with Biofeedback treatment
Administration of biofeedback methods is not recommended for persons with severe psychosis, depression, or obsessional neurosis, nor for debilitated patients or those with psychopathic personalities. Patients must consult their doctors before opting for biofeedback treatment.
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