What is Biofeedback Therapy?
Our body has specific functions that work through the response we give, like moving a leg or a finger, winking, etc. But some instinctive actions work themselves, and we cannot control them, like the beats of your heart, breathing, the temperature of the body, etc., or so we thought. These actions, we thought, work on their own and depend on the state of your body and the environment you are in.
But, there are some ways to gain some control over these otherwise involuntary actions, which is known as biofeedback therapy. It is a therapeutic process to get treatment for various issues like migraine headaches, chronic pain, incontinence, and even high blood pressure.
How does it work?
Even now, researchers are not precisely sure how biofeedback therapy works, but what they doknow is this, you can relax more and get rid of certain types of stresses by means of it. You can get relief from several conditions through a practical session.
In the course of the treatment or the session, electrodes are put on your skin to monitor your current heart rate, breathing pattern, temperature, blood pressure, sweat rate, and muscle motion.
Additionally, these measurements are seen in real-time by the therapists through the display screen. When the body is under stress it is seen that these measurements change dramatically. The job of the therapist is to help you to train your body to relax. You can also hook up these electrodes to your monitor at home to observe these measurements and practice the relaxation exercise by yourself.
These relaxation exercises tune your body to calm down in stressful situations. When you become proficient, you can even turn down the brainwaves that activate when you experience migraines.
Different types of Biofeedback
There are different types of Biofeedback therapy that people can get according to their particular condition, such as:
Electromyography (EMG) biofeedback:
It processes muscle tension since it changes over time.
Thermal or temperature biofeedback:
It processes the body temperature changes with time.
Electroencephalography:
This measures brain wave activity over time.
Galvanic skin response training:
This measures the amount of sweat that you give out from your body over time.
Heart variability biofeedback:
This checks your pulse and heart rate.
Just how harmful is stress?
Though it is normal to feel pressure for certain things, getting chronic stress for them in your daily life can damage your physical and emotional health. If you don’t get treatment for anxiety and extreme pressure, you are more prone to getting severe illnesses such as high blood pressure, obesity, and migraines.
Stress is very harmful to the body, and it also associates with other illnesses if you do not get immediate treatment. The primary aim of biofeedback treatment is to relieve stress and bring in more relaxation in your daily life.
As you practice it more, you are intentionally able to operate your breathing, heart rate, and other involuntary functions in stressful situations. Along with these, biofeedback is also able to cure many other health issues such as:
- Asthma
- Irregular bowels
- Incontinence
- Extreme side effects of chemotherapy
- Irregular blood pressure
- Raynauds disease
- Chronic pain in any part of the body
- Anxiety, pressure, or stress
Benefits of getting Biofeedback therapy
Some of the significant benefits of getting this therapy include that you do not rely on you to take heavy medications. It is completely noninvasive. Some people even pair it with other treatments to boost and improve the overall healing process.
Are there any risks?
Biofeedback is generally a safe treatment if you are considering getting it. There has been no reporting of any severe types of side effects. But like any other procedure, you must obtain proper advice from your doctor before you consider getting one. The doctor or therapist must be aware of your medical history before prescribing this treatment for any condition that you might have.
Conclusion
You should know that the treatment’s long-term success will depend on how often you use the techniques you were taught to face stressful situations. Biofeedback therapy uses sensors to determine the vital components of the bodywork and make them work better. You can control the function of these components by regularly practicing the techniques that the therapist teaches.
Biofeedback advisors may utilize temperature biofeedback when regarding such conditions as constant agony, edema, headache and strain migraine, basic hypertension, Raynaud’s sickness, tension, and stress. Skin temperature biofeedback can be extremely helpful in the treatment of issues that might be founded on poor circulatory blood stream.
The basic principle that will help you gain control is practicing “mind over matter.” Moreover, if you feel that you need to do biofeedback therapy, it is advisable to obtain your doctor’s advice. Undoubtedly, biofeedback therapy works wonders after a few sessions.
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