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What Is Biofeedback Therapy?
Written by Jerry on December 14, 2009 – 1:27 am -
What Is Biofeedback Therapy?
We all suffer from stress at times, that causes increased heart rates, blood pressure, muscle tension, other unhealthy symptoms that make us age faster. Until recently, it was assumed that these autonomic functions of the body, as well as temperature and other automatic responses, were impossible to control. However, through the development of biofeedback therapy, we can both gauge these functions and start to control them.
Biofeedback therapy is a system designed to use electronic impulses and special equipment to monitor the body’s response to specific situations, especially those that cause stress. To help you develop the ability to control your responses, a biofeedback specialist uses signals from special monitoring equipment to teach you to control certain body functions and their responses, such as brain activity, blood pressure, muscle tension, heart rate, skin temperature, and sweat gland activity
Based on the input received from the monitoring systems, the therapist can then concentrate on that particular reaction and help you reverse it.
Previously, the focus of this type therapy was to relax the whole body. Now, as biofeedback therapy has evolved, specific areas can be targeted for relief. The biofeedback monitors can locate the source of tension so therapy can be targeted to this specific area without wasting time and effort on unnecessary areas.
Guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation are a couple of the tools used to reduce the affects of stress and can be used to relax the body both during and after stressful situations. Biofeedback therapy can assist in the control of other disorders and diseases, such as diabetes, incontinence, Raynaud's disease, epilepsy, asthma, hyperactivity disorders, and more.
Because biofeedback therapy is a painless, noninvasive procedure, it may be a better choice over some other neurological monitoring procedures.
Uses for Biofeedback Therapy
While the original purpose behind biofeedback therapy was to relieve the symptoms related to stress, several other uses have been found for biofeedback. Several chronic illnesses may be relieved or completely alleviated through the use of biofeedback therapy.
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder) symptoms can be reduced with biofeedback therapy, either in combination with or instead of stimulants and other oral medications. Because biofeedback therapy allows us to identify the brain state of a person suffering from ADHD as different from what is considered “normal”, the therapist can then work toward the goal of “reprogramming” the brain. Then the person with ADHD can be taught to process brain waves in a more regulated fashion. This also makes biofeedback therapy a successful treatment for many patients suffering from both minor and major head injuries and trauma and can include stroke victims.
By using biofeedback therapy to identify and target the brain activity that causes epileptic seizures or muscle spasms, the reactions to these disorders can be greatly reduced. Learning disabilities can be corrected, and other physiological ailments, such as incontinence, headaches, motion sickness, depression, nausea, asthma, and many others have been proven to benefit from the use of biofeedback therapy.
No, biofeedback therapy isn't miracle "cure all" but, it's a method that can help in many situations WITHOUT the use of drugs.
How much time do you need to spend in therapy to correct a disorder or be sure that you have learned to control your autonomic functions well enough? The next part of this article will talk about the amount of time involved in the biofeedback therapy process.
How Much Time Does Biofeedback Therapy Require?
As you begin to research biofeedback therapy, you’ll notice that it's not like other therapy used by physicians and psychologists in the past. It's a noninvasive therapy that has nothing to do with lying on a couch and talking about hating your childhood. So, if the system is so different, how much time is actually involved?
A session typically lasts no more than an hour. Sensors attached to you will record electronic impulses produced by your body, monitoring stress levels and brain wave activity, as well as temperature, metabolism, and other typically automatic body processes. Those signals are interpreted into a graphical readout for you to use. Based on this information, you can learn to consciously control the levels of each specific bodily function.
For serious challenges, most therapy takes years to complete and sometimes continues through a person’s entire life. The number of sessions required to achieve a goal depends on the ultimate goal, the ailment being treated, and your dedication to and understanding of the process itself. If you work hard and progress quickly, you can have a handle on your ailment in as little as ten sessions, according to some sources. More difficult circumstances obviously require extended periods of time sometimes lasting for fifty sessions or more, until you can control functions with ease.
While biofeedback can take a lot of time, and some sessions may be longer than others, think of the quality of life you’ll gain in terms of lifespan, health, and psychological issues. Biofeedback is an option for those with head trauma, diabetes, eating disorders, and other personality disorders. It's also a method that may let you cut back on or completely quit using drugs with strong side effects.
So, where did the idea of biofeedback come from? We’ll discuss this in the next part of the article.
Where Does Biofeedback Therapy Come From?
In the 1960’s, the first studies that showed success in biofeedback therapy were conducted by The Veterans Administration Hospital in Sepulveda, California, and Elmer and Alice Green, who worked at the Menninger Foundation out of Topeka, Kansas, a clinic and research facility for mental illness.
In these first important studies into biofeedback therapy, it was discovered that Indian yogi masters were able to take conscious control of both their nervous systems and their metabolic rates. Various studies using biofeedback therapy were then started, and it was found that, through techniques such as progressive muscular relaxation and imagery, a person could be taught to relax the symptoms of stress that negatively affected their health.
During later research, it was discovered that other diseases and disorders had symptoms that could be remedied just as well as those caused by stress. Digestive disorders, epilepsy, and diabetes are among the many diseases and dysfunctions that have been improved from the use of biofeedback therapy. The ability to “see” into oneself and target the negative responses to specific stimuli has made biofeedback a growing interest in the medical community.
As the process becomes more and more successful, it will be discussed in more mainstream applications, offering patients a simple, pain-free way to learn to control the affects of anxiety and stress. Now, they can look younger and feel younger than their years simply by relieving the stress of everyday life.
So, how exactly does biofeedback therapy work? We’ll discuss this aspect in the final section of this article.
How Does Biofeedback Therapy Work?
With the advent of biofeedback therapy, many people can look forward to a life without the harsh symptoms of daily stress or severe psychological and health disorders. There will also be a decreasing need for future procedures that are invasive or drugs you can become addicted to. But, what is biofeedback therapy, and how exactly does it work?
In a biofeedback therapy session, you will be placed in a quiet, comfortable room where you will sit and probably have some sensors taped to your arm and/or forehead to monitor your muscular reactions and tension level. A heat sensor may also be connected to one finger to monitor temperature.
All of the signals monitored will be translated into an audio or visual signal that will allow you to view your own reactions and bodily functions. A therapist will teach you techniques to help you manipulate the signals you are seeing. By doing so, you are actually controlling your autonomic reactions such as elevated metabolic rates or uncontrolled blood pressure, so you can improve your overall health.
Because biofeedback therapy is a noninvasive procedure, and there is no drugs used, the process is becoming more and more popular and moving into mainstream medical practice. Over the past 25 years, biofeedback therapy has shown amazing results for patients with chronic stress-related health problems, as well as advancement in treating other long-term illnesses and disorders.
Biofeedback therapy could be the wave of the future by allowing self-treatment and learning to self-evaluate and correct habits that are detrimental to your health. Since the first clinical studies over forty years ago, the therapy has come a long way and now you can even find biofeedback equipment for use at home, that ranges from about $100 to several thousand dollars.
If you would like to learn more the 2 links below are good places to start.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/biofeedback/SA00083
http://webideas.com/biofeedback/index/
Never Stop Exploring Life!
Jerry L Saunders, RM
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Tags: Affects Of Stress, Automatic Responses, Autonomic Functions, Body Functions, Brain Activity, Electronic Impulses, Guided Imagery, Heart Rate, Heart Rates, Hyperactivity, Monitoring Equipment, Monitoring Systems, Muscle Tension, Noninvasive Procedure, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Raynaud, Raynaud S Disease, Skin Temperature, Stressful Situations, Sweat Gland, Wasting Time
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