If you are suffering from stress,anxiety,depression,obsessive compulsive disorder,trauma,or nightmares,Biofeedback may be a good treatment choice to reduce your symptoms. In addition,if you are suffering from chronic pain,migraines,muscular tension,back spasms,neuropathy,fibromyalgia,or insomnia,Biofeedback may also be an important part of your treatment plan. Biofeedback may sound complicated,but we have biofeedback tools in our own household. For example, the weight scale is an external biofeedback device that tells us our internal body mass;a thermometer is also an external biofeedback device that tells us our internal thermal body temperature. The external biofeedback we use at our clinic is called Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback to help gather information and reduce your internal physical and emotional symptoms. Harmless and non-invasive sensors are applied on you ears and fingers to pick up many of the internal clues from your autonomic nervous system that elicit how your body is handling stress. Science has proven that high stress levels lower immunity,increase anxiety,depression,insomnia,and pain. Stress is not just a mind concept,it is an actual physiological function that produces stress hormones in our body;sodium lactate,adrenaline,and cortisol,to name a few. These stress hormones are normal and safe in short durations,but long-term they increase pain and stress.
Autonomic Nervous System
HRV biofeedback allows clients and practitioners to get an intimate look at the variableness of the heart,the heart’s health,and the coherence between the sympathetic and parasympathetic neural systems. The sympathetic nervous system is also known as the fight or flight system,where the body prepares to react to a dangerous situation with resulting increases in fear,anxiety,anger,irritability,and aggression. When someone is suffering from chronic pain,the fight or flight system is over-active,thus not allowing the body time to heal. Being in long-term pain can be very traumatic to the body,thus decreasing healing,lowering immunity levels,and decreasing optimal sleep quality. With the external feedback loop in real-life time,we get evidence-based treatment to help promote healing,modulate moods,increase concentration,focus,increase sleep quality,reduce pain flare-ups,and improve emotional well-being.
Additional information/references:
Barrios-Choplin,B.,McCraty,R. and Cryer,B. An inner quality approach to reducing stress and improving physical and emotional wellbeing at work. Stress Medicine. 1997;13:193-201.
H.Cohen,L.Neumann,M.Shore,M.Amir,Y.Cassuto,D.Buskil. Autonomic dysfunction in patients with fibromyalgia:Application of power spectral analysis of heart rate variability. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism,Volume 29,Issue 4,Pages 217-227
Lehrer,P.,Smetankin,A. and Potapova,T. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia biofeedback therapy for asthma:A report of 20 unmedicated pediatric cases. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 2000;25(3):193-200.
Luskin,F.,Reitz,M. and Newell,K. Pilot study of a group stress management training on elderly patients with congestive heart failure. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. 2000;20(5):303.
McCraty,R.,Barrios-Choplin,B.,Rozman,D.,Atkinson,M. and Watkins,A. The impact of a new emotional self-management program on stress,emotions,heart rate variability,DHEA and cortisol. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science. 1998;33(2):151-170.
McCraty,R. HeartMath learning enhancement programs improve academic performance and behavior in school children. In:Proceedings of the Futurehealth Winter Brain Meeting. Miami,FL,2001.
McCraty,R.,Tomasino,D.,Atkinson,M. and Sundram,J. Impact of the HeartMath self-management skills program on physiological and psychological stress in police officers. Boulder Creek,CA:HeartMath Research Center,Institute of HeartMath,Publication No. 99-075.
McCraty,R.,Atkinson,M. and Tomasino,D. HeartMath risk reduction program reduces blood pressure and improves psychological well-being in individuals with hypertension. Manuscript in preparation.
McCraty,R.,Atkinson,M. and Lipsenthal,L. Emotional self-regulation program enhances psychological health and quality of life in patients with diabetes. Manuscript in preparation.
Rein,G.,Atkinson,M. and McCraty,R. The physiological and psychological effects of compassion and anger. Journal of Advancement in Medicine. 1995;8(2):87-105.
Rozman,D.,Whitaker,R.,Beckman,T. and Jones,D. A pilot intervention program which reduces psychological symptomatology in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 1996;4:226-232.
Lubar,J. F. (Ed.) (2003). Quantitative Electroencephalographic Analysis (QEEG) Databases for Neurotherapy:Description,Validation,and Application. New York:The Haworth Medical Press.