Your Good Health Matters

I have been reading some of the recent conversations on the net where biofeedback is mentioned. These mentions have run the gamut from extreme skepticism to casual endorsements. One of the better comments was posted on Cranky Fitness where ‘Crabby’ talks about having used the Journey to Wild Devine (a biofeeback game) to reduce stress. Besides thinking the game might have helped her reduce stress, she points out that biofeedack units which used to cost professionals thousands of dollars (and still can if you want a full blow computer interface and statistical analysis capabilities) are now available for home use at reasonable prices (less than an IPhone).

So, what is biofeedback and how does it help reduce stress?

Well, the science behind biofeedback actually started in the 1930s where it was discovered that the nervous system that controlled the fight or flight response and the relaxation response could be trained (before, it was thought the autonomic NS could not be trained). So, if this was the case how can you train it? Over the years researchers started learning how to measure the output of this nervous system by using various electronic devices and they discovered that if they made the results of these monitoring sessions available to patients that people could learn to consciously change what was before unconscious activity and difficult to change. With this biofeedback was born.

So, why is training the Autonomic Nervous System important?

Well, when the Autonomic NS is ‘out of whack’ for awhile symptoms can develop. These symptoms can be upsetting and greatly affect the quality of life. Medication doesn’t do a great job relieving these symptoms so with the development of biofeedback a non-invasive way to reduce the symptoms of chronic stress was discovered.

In the 1980s biofeedback became much more accepted into main stream medicine and the field of Behavioral Medicine was born, which used not only biofeedback but other changes in behavior to move people out of illness and toward better health.

When I was in practice as a psychotherapist and biofeedback therapist, I was referred patients by doctors for headaches, TMJ/TMD (TemporoMandibular Joint Dysfunction), jaw clenching, neck pain, chronic post whiplash pain, back pain, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bladder syndrome, hypertension, Reynauds Syndrome (very cold extremeties), phobias, and chronic/acute anxiety.

As you can see, the techniques are applicable to a wide range of conditions and treatment results were excellent. Biofeedback therapists are available all over the world and can be very helpful in training people how to change their behavior on a physiological level so they recover from often debilitating conditions. If you are suffering from a chronic condition I would definitely recommend discussing a referral to a biofeedback therapist with your doctor. However, one of the great advances over the last 10 years, is the development of relatively low cost biofeedback devices that can be used at home to help move the nervous system in the right direction for reducing stress and normalizing physiological function. These devices include the Resperate (to help lower blood pressure), the emWave, StressEraser and emWave PC (to synchronize the heart rate with the relaxed nervous system for stress and anxiety), the Journey to Wild Devine and Healing Rhythms (biofeedback in a game and rich instructional format) and the GSR2 (lowers skin resistance to reduce the stress response).

Using these devices at home does require motivation and persistence. The nice thing about seeing a therapist is that the therapist often helps with motivation and persistence, not to mention technical expertise and know-how. But, much of the know-how is now built into these home units so anybody who can trust themselves to follow-through and practice over time can see the possibility of better health through a better lifestyle (one that includes regular relaxation training).

I plan on discussing individual units in more depth in future posts.