"If you want to heal the body, you must first heal the mind."
                                                                    Plato 427 - 347 b.c.


                             WHAT IS BIOFEEDBACK?

Biofeedback is a term for mind-body information.  Biofeedback training provides the individual with clear and precise computer-assisted visual and auditory information about specific physical activity guiding a person in learning to self-regulate for improvement and recovery of functioning.


                        HEART-RATE VARIABILITY BIOFEEDBACK

Heart-rate variability (HRV) is the beat-to-beat variations in the heart rate.  Variability means changes in the distance between one beat of the heart and the next.  This distance is measured in milliseconds.  The interval beat variations are related to physical, emotional and mental functioning.  The heart is sensitive to both acute and chronic stress.   When stress, including ordinary daily stress, triggers unpleasant emotional arousal (the familiar fight or flight mode) the heart's beat-to-beat variations become irregular or chaotic.  Chronic stress can lead to exerting efforts beyond physiological tolerance into chronic depletion, exhaustion and dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system.




             
        Chaotic/Disorganized Pattern   Coherent/Organized Pattern



HRV biofeedback targets the source of the emotional arousal by self-regulation
of the autonomic nervous system leading to improvements in emotional, autonomic, and hormonal functioning.  Research shows that coherent or smooth heart rhythms and positive emotion facilitate higher brain functions.  On the other hand, stressful emotions and incoherent or disordered heart rhythms inhibit one's ability to organize thoughts.  Various clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of HRV biofeedback in changing fear, depression, fatigue, sleep disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, DHEA, and other conditions.


HRV BIOFEEDBACK TRAINING PROCEDURE

In HRV biofeedback training a small electrode is attached to your finger or ear.  This electrode picks up hour heart's signal and displays the electrical pattern on the computer screen in real time.  You are guided to relax physically and emotionally, to alter negative or anxious thoughts, as you learn to beathe in a specific rhythmical pattern.  This breathing pattern increases variability and smoothness in the heart rate pattern and leads to better management of stress on the body, brain and emotions.

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                                 TEMPERATURE BIOFEEDBACK

Temperature training uses highly sensitive measures of temperature.  Thermisters are attached to your hands and a temperature training screen is displayed on the computer screen.  Computer tones and visual feedback help to guide you in regulating your peripheral temperatures. Temperature biofeedback assists you in relaxing and in controlling temperature and blood flow for problems such as headaches and Raynaud's Disease.


                                           EMG BIOFEEDBACK

EMG (electromyography) biofeedback gives direct visual/auditory information about muscle tension in specific muscles to assist in learning to self-regulate muscle tension and pain.  In EMG training, electrodes are placed on targeted muscles. The electrical activity in those muscles is displayed on the computer screen and you are trained to control that specific electrical activity, altering muscle tension for improved control and reduction of pain.
                                        

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