Biofeedback: What is it?
Biofeedback is the therapeutic process of helping individuals actively influence and regulate otherwise involuntary bodily processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, finger temperature, breathing rate, muscle tension and more. Acquisition of these self-regulation skills positively impacts your nervous system, leading to long-term physiological change.
Similarly to going to the gym and lifting weights to strengthen your muscles, biofeedback is a type of training for your autonomic nervous system. When you participate in an effective biofeedback training program and are consistent, your nervous system becomes more flexible and resilient. When our nervous system is balanced, our physiological health is better and our quality of life dramatically improves.
During a biofeedback session, you are connected to different sensors that measure various physiological processes. This data is used to create an objective picture as to how your body is handling stress. With this information, we work together to change your body’s stress response. We know that stress is the #1 factor for many diseases and ailments including back pain, tension headaches, migraines, anxiety, digestive distress, etc. Therefore, even if you are doing everything else perfectly (and who is?), if you are not effectively managing your stress, your symptoms will persist and any relieve from other therapies is going to be short term.
Modern medicine recognizes biofeedback as an effective tool for helping those with various chronic conditions (diabetes, anxiety, chronic pain, ADHD, CRPS, high blood pressure, Raynaud’s & so on) achieve more favorable and lasting health outcomes. As well, many high performers (athletes and executives) use biofeedback as a performance enhancer, improving physical and cognitive function.
Not sure if it is right for you? Well, good news! Biofeedback is completely painless and non-invasive making it a no brainer to try it out, especially when the alternative is something more daunting such as medication or surgery. To be truthful, I can’t think of one person on the planet who could not benefit from biofeedback giving it’s rehabilitative and performance enhancing benefits. With that said, it is important to understand that the process of biofeedback is considered a training and not a treatment. Basically, this is not something done to you, but rather, you are expected to be an active participant in the therapeutic process.
