Friday, January 9, 2015

Useful Details On Biofeedback Therapy

By Enid Hinton


Biofeedback is a technique in which individuals learn how to control body functions such as the heart rate. The individual is connected to electrical sensors that assist them to receive certain information about the body, thus the name biofeedback therapy. The individual is assisted to focus on making changes to the body like muscle relaxation. It will give the individual power to make use of their thoughts to control their body, mostly to help with the physical performance.

Some of the physical conditions that are managed by this technique are asthma, constipation, chronic pain and anxiety. It is preferred for a number of reasons. For once, it is a non-invasive procedure. Invasive procedures are rarely preferred by most patients. It also reduces and eliminates the need to use medications and thus may be a good alternative for people who may not tolerate medications. Further, it is an option when medicines have failed to work well.

Whereas the procedure is generally safe, it is not appropriate for all individuals. There are those that will not benefit from it. The doctor will perform an assessment to find out its suitability to the particular patient. One does not need to have any special preparations for treatment. In order to get the best therapists, the advice of the doctor or any other health specialist will come in handy. They will recommend the best professionals in the market. The majority of specialists in this technique are licensed in other fields like nursing or physical therapy.

Prior to beginning treatment, the potential therapist must be asked certain questions and some details clarified. For once, they need to be registered and certified. If they are not licensed, they must be working under some qualified professional that is licensed. The training and experience of the therapist needs to be considered as well. The required number of sessions will be discussed at this time. Having the practitioner give a list of references will help to gauge their experience.

During the treatment session, electrical sensors get attached to various body parts. These sensors will monitor physiological state of the body. For instance, there will be monitoring of brain waves, muscle tension and skin temperature. There is feedback of the information through such cues as beeping sound. The feedback teaches the person to change physiological body reaction.

For example, the biofeedback is able to pinpoint tense muscles which cause headaches. The patient then learns ways to invoke positive physical changes in the body like relaxing the specific muscles to minimize pain. The ultimate goal of the technique is to learn these points at home individually.

A single session may last for 30 minutes to one hour. The number of sessions one goes for depends on condition of the person and how fast they will be able to learn controlling the physical responses. Individuals could need 10 or even 50 sessions, making it really costly. This mode of treatment is never covered by insurance.

There are different types of biofeedback. Among them are temperature biofeedback, galvanic skin response training and heart rate variability. Most of the devices currently used are marketed for home use.




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