LYCOS RETRIEVER
Biofeedback
built 645 days ago
Biofeedback is a non-invasive form of treatment. The therapist attaches sensors or electrodes to the body and these sensors provide a variety of readings--feedback--which is displayed on the equipment for the patient to see. The signals typically measure skin temperature, muscle tension and/or brainwave function. With this information, patients can learn to make changes so subtle that at first they cannot be consciously perceived. With practice... the new responses and behaviors can help to bring relief and improvement to a variety of disorders.
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Biofeedback is an excellent treatment for anxieties and phobias. Because the physiological correlates to anxiety and phobias can be measured through the electrodermal activity, EDA training is optimal. EDA is a direct measure of anxiety. It is easy to determine whether the body is in the flight/fight response through the measure of electrodermal activity in the hands. Overall relaxation training, when doing breath work is ... indicated. Systematic desensitization is commonly used while in the biofeedback setting, to be later practiced in the real situation.
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Biofeedback has gained widespread acceptance as a treatment for migraines. By learning biofeedback, migraine sufferers can short-circuit migraines and other headaches, or at least reduce the pain, Baskin tells WebMD. The trick may be by increasing blood flow to the hands. That diverts the excess blood flow from the head, which may contribute to the headaches.
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Biofeedback is scientifically proven to have a powerful, positive effect on your emotional and physical well-being by teaching you to alter your brain activity, blood pressure, muscle tension, heart rate and other critical bodily functions. For more information about biofeedback, Read Dr. Bob Whitehouse's article on the Science of Biofeedback or visit the Mayo Clinic's Complimentary & Alternative Health Center.
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Biofeedback is non-invasive. When used clinically, a therapist attaches sensors or electrodes to the body and these sensors provide a variety of readings--feedback--which is displayed on equipment, usually a meter or a computer, for the patient to see. One commonly used device called the electromyogram (EMG), for example, picks up electrical signals from the muscles. It translates the signals into a form that people can detect, such as a flashing light and/or a beeper, every time muscles become more tense. If one wants to relax tense muscles, one must try to slow down or eliminate the flashing or beeping. People learn to associate sensations from the muscle with actual levels of tension and develop a new, healthy habit of keeping muscles only as tense as is necessary for as long as necessary.
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Biofeedback relies on instruments that painlessly measure the sources of tension being produced by the patient. The information is instantaneously fed to the patient visually and/or audibly. The patient is taught how to deal with tension in the affected areas as well as generally. By doing this, the body returns to its natural balance and the patient learns voluntary control as a new skill. The symptoms will potentially lessen or disappear.
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