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eLearning Series:
I Want a Natural Health Remedy
( 50 articles in this series )
How
Can Biofeedback Improve Your Health?
Biofeedback is using the power of the mind
to improve health. Through biofeedback, health is improved
without the use of medication. The ability to use mind power
in this way has been demonstrated in numerous scientific research
studies. In fact, research has shown that biofeedback helps
control or remedy approximately 150 different medical conditions,
such as hot flashes, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, Reynard’s
disease, headaches, incontinence, high blood pressure, irregular
heartbeats, epilepsy, and side-effects of chemotherapy, such
as vomiting and nausea.
Biofeedback
involves teaching the body to control involuntary responses,
such as blood pressure, brain activity, heart rate,
and muscle tension. Through these techniques, a person can
treat both physical and mental health problems. Biofeedback
can also help prevent health problems and provide the practitioner
with overall improved health and a greater sense of well-being.
Through the use of biofeedback, a person can potentially eliminate
the need to use medication. Similarly, biofeedback can help
treat illnesses that have been unresponsive to medication.
A person can be trained in biofeedback with the help of a
therapist specially trained in the field. Generally,
a session for training in biofeedback takes 30 to 60 minutes. During
one of these sessions, the therapist places electrical sensors
on different parts of the body in order to monitor the way
the body responds to stress. These responses, such as muscle
contractions, will trigger a response with the equipment being
used for monitoring, such as a beeping sound. In this way,
the person being trained in biofeedback can begin to make associations
between the body’s responses with the way the body is functioning.
During
a therapy session, the person being trained in biofeedback
attempts to adjust his body’s responses. The person receives
continual feedback from the equipment being used. If the body
continues to react in an adverse fashion, the beeping number
of beeping sounds might increase. This means the problem is
getting worse. If the beeping decreases, the problem is getting
better. In this way, the person learns what activities help
reduce the problem and what activities aggravate it.
After
understanding how the body reacts negatively, you can
learn about biofeedback and how you can make the body have
positive changes. Biofeedback will enable you to teach your
self how to relax specific muscles. Eventually, the person
learns how to make these changes without the assistance of
a therapist.
There are many different types of machine used to help in
the biofeedback process. An Electromyogram (EMG) uses sensors
or electrodes to measure tension in muscles. This is especially
helpful in learning how to control grinding of teeth and to
relax muscles, particularly in the head, back, and neck. It
can also help with illnesses that become worse in stressful
situations, such as ulcers and asthma. By using an EMG, the
person learns to recognize these feelings early and is then
able to control the feelings of tension immediately.
Using sensors to monitor temperature can also be helpful.
Often, body temperatures drop when under stress. Therefore,
a low temperature indicates a need to begin performing relaxation
techniques. This type of biofeedback is especially helpful
for people with Reynard’s disease or who suffer from migraines.
Other sensors can be used to measure sweat glad activity.
This is called Galvanic Skin response training. Excessive perspiration
can be a sign of anxiety. Understanding this form of biofeedback
and how the body reacts can help control anxiety, as well as
phobias and stuttering.
An Electroencephalogram (EEG) can also be used in biofeedback
training. The EEG is capable of monitoring brain waves. These
brain waves are connected to a variety of mental states, including
relaxation, wakefulness, and calmness.
A qualified biofeedback therapist can be found by contacting
the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA).
The BCIA can provide names of certified therapists in specific
areas of the United States.
Biofeedback has also been used to help treat stroke victims
who have lost movement in their muscles. In addition, psychologists
use biofeedback to help east anxious clients and many specialists
use biofeedback to help patients learn to deal with pain. Cardiac
arrhythmias, high and low blood pressure, epilepsy, and digestive
system disorders have also been successfully treated with biofeedback.
Biofeedback has been repeatedly shown to work, though most
patients can’t really explain how it works for them or what
exactly they are doing to control certain involuntary body
functions. But, this is in-line with what biofeedback is truly
all about, being able to understand one’s own body in a unique
way no one else can. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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