Biofeedback DefinitionBiofeedback operates on the notion that we have the innate ability and potential to influence the automatic functions of our bodies through the exertion of will and mind. Mind over matter. Biofeedback has recently been shown to give us what had previously seemed an impossible degree of control over a variety of physiologic events. Biofeedback is a technique using the technology of monitoring, with instruments, unconscious or involuntary bodily processes as heart rate or electrical activity in the brain, and making them perceptible to the senses (as by the use of an oscilloscope) in order to manipulate them by conscious mental control. Biofeedback PurposeBiofeedback is a treatment method that uses monitoring instruments to feed back to patients physiological information of which they are normally unaware. By watching the monitoring device, patients can learn by trial and error to adjust their thinking and other mental processes in order to control bodily processes heretofore thought to be involuntary--such as blood pressure, temperature, gastrointestinal functioning, and brain wave activity, with the goal of increasing performance or improving health. Biofeedback is used to treat a very wide variety of conditions and diseases, ranging from stress, alcohol and other addictions, sleep disorders, epilepsy, respiratory problems, and fecal and urinary incontinence to muscle spasms, partial paralysis, or muscle dysfunction caused by injury, migraine headaches, hypertension, and a variety of vascular disorders. More applications are being developed yearly. Neurofeedback is biofeedback using brainwaves. One example of this is a device which provides an alert when muscles are being tensed. Through visual (a light) or auditory (a beeping noise) signals, people can be trained to relax their muscles. Or a person can be trained in a matter of days to cause the temperature of one hand to rise five to ten degrees higher than that of the other hand, while not contracting the hand muscles.
One can be trained to effectively short-circuit a migraine attack. block the pain of colitis, neuritis, and other conditions. Using a special machine and sensors to record muscle contractions and skin temperature, you can learn to control normally involuntary processes such as heart rate and blood pressure that increase under stress. The machine "feeds back" the efforts and eventually you can recognize and control facets of the stress response by yourself. Once viewed with skepticism, the control of "involuntary" responses is now seen to be effective in the treatment of migraine headaches, asthma and other disorders in certain individuals.
The EMG machine amplifies the electrical sound emitting from the paralyzed limb, and as the patient becomes aware of the activity, his nervous system may stimulate more muscle activity. Eventually, new nerve endings may grow in the affected muscles and the patient may regain some mobility. More often EMG is used to promote relaxation in muscles that have become tense in response to stress. EMG has been used for the treatment of tension headaches, backache, neck pain, and bruxism as well as in the stress related illnesses such as asthma and ulcers.
EDR measures electrical conductance in the skin, which is associated with the activity of the sweat glands. A very slight electrical current (unnoticeable to you) is run through your skin. The machine measures changes in the salt and water in your sweat gland ducts. The more emotionally aroused you are, the more active your sweat glands are and the greater the electrical conductivity of your skin. GSR is effective in treating phobias, anxiety, excessive sweating, and, at times, stuttering,as a lie detection test and athletes use it.
EEG monitors brain wave activity. The method is relatively imprecise. The brain emits many electrical signals of various frequencies. Only a very few of these waves have been directly tied to specific disorders or mental states, insomniacs are taught to control theta waves, and epileptics have found relief by monitoring waves produced during seizures.
Temperature Biofeedback machines monitors skin temperature and can be helpful in certain circulatory disorders. Like monitoring muscle tension, measuring skin temperature is a useful tool in learning how to manage stress. This method may also reduce the frequency of migraine headaches, and is also used to promote relaxation.
Other biofeedback machines can monitor heart rate and blood pressure, both of which change in response to stress, arrhythmia and hypertension. You can purchase biofeedback instruments to use at home, though the most affordable are the type that monitor only one system, such as temperature. Biofeedback is more effective if you combine it with relaxation techniques, self hypnotism and psychotherapy. In this way you not only learn how to control your reactions to stress but you can explore the causes of the stress and your thoughts and behavior that contribute to it. Click here to go to the next Therapy page Click to go back, to the list of alternative medicine therapies page Click here to bypass, and go immediately to the Doctor of Naturopathy help for you, or to read how Naturopathy can help. This website developed by www.designersofwebs.com | |
