MoonDragon's Alternative Health Information Mind & Emotion Therapies BIOFEEDBACK
In the 1960s, American scientists began training people to control heart rate and subconscious biological functions by using electronic "biofeedback" instruments that monitored subtle physical responses. Electrodes or probes are used to attach patients to the biofeedback device, and signals, such as electronic beeps, flashes, or needles on a dial, "feed back" information about changes in the body. By responding to these signals, patients can learn to self-regulate body functions. The technique is often used to treat stress-related ailments, and is practiced in North America, the UK, and Australasia.
MAIN USES OF BIOFEEDBACK
Stress-related conditions, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, migraines, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome.
In the early 1940s US and UK scientists developed electronic devices to detect minute physical responses. At first, publicity focused on obtaining electrical signals from the brain, but the work of American scientists in the 1960s confirmed biofeedback's therapeutic value. Drs. Elmer and Alyce Green of the Menninger Foundation in Kansas used the method to study states of mind during yoga meditation; by the 1980s stress management courses using biofeedback were introduced to American primary schools. In the 1990s, better computer technology prompted further research.
CONSULTING A PRACTITIONER
The practitioner wills how you how to use the biofeedback device, of which there are several types:
Skin Temperature (ST) Gauge: Registers heat changes in the skin.
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) Sensor: Measures the skin's electrical conductivity by the amount of sweat produced under stress.
Electromyographs (EMGs): Use auditory or visual signals to indicate muscle tension.
Electro-Cardiographs (ECGs): Monitor heart rate.
Electro-Encephalographs (EEGs): Show brain-wave activity.
An EEG records the complex series of electrical charges produced by brain-wave activity with electrodes attached to the patient's scalp.
Once the sensors are in place, you are taught to recognize signals that suggest relaxation. Techniques such as breathing and muscle relaxation help achieve the desired response (reduced blood pressure, for example). A state of relaxation is indicated by warm skin, low sweat gland activity, high levels of alpha waves from the brain, and a slow, even heart rate. Biofeedback takes practice; at least six half-hour sessions may be needed.
INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE
In a sophisticated computer program, the patient uses biofeedback to control images on the VDT.
Computer Monitor: Images and colors on the screen change as the patient relaxes.
Finger Electrodes: Electrodes attached to the patient's hand monitor skin responses to body stress levels.
EVIDENCE & RESEARCH
An extensive body of clinical research exists to support the claims of biofeedback. A 1996 study in the US showed that using biofeedback to relax shoulder muscles could ease tension headaches. A 1992 American study showed that muscular pain in the lower back responded to biofeedback, and a US government report in 1992 found patients could control incontinence with the technique. It is also being used at Yale University to control heart rate and blood pressure, and some American practitioners use it to treat epilepsy.
Few conventional practitioners would have once believed that people could learn to influence blood pressure, let alone brain waves. Today, the evidence is conclusive and biofeedback's entry into the medical mainstream seems inevitable, although practitioners question its reliability as a form of treatment.
PRECAUTIONS
Do not change the dosage of any medications you are taking during biofeedback treatment without consulting a health care provider.
This is only a small sample of educational materials and products available through Amazon.com. Use the search box provided below to search for a particular item.
If you see a suggested Amazon product "not there" as indicated by an orange box with the Amazon logo, this only means the specific product link has been changed by Amazon.com. Use the "click here" icon on the orange box and it will bring you to Amazon.com and you can do a search for a specific product using keywords and a new list of available products and prices will show. Their product and resource links are constantly changing and being upgraded. Many times there are more than one link to a specific product. Prices will vary between product distributors so it pays to shop around and do price comparisons.
Educational materials and health products are available through Amazon.com. Use the search box provided below to search for a particular item.
For a full list of available products from Mountain Rose Herbs, click on banner below:
A website map to help you find what you are looking for on MoonDragon.org's Website. Available pages have been listed under appropriate directory headings.
MoonDragon's ObGyn Womens Health nformation: Stress
MoonDragon's Alternative Therapy: Naturopathy
