I had been in chronic, agonizing back pain for over 3 years when I stumbled upon biofeedback over 40 years ago. Just a few sessions of hand temperature biofeedback turned my life around–I was able to reduce my pain to a very minimal level and get back to living my life. I still use what I learned then to keep me healthy and functional. Because of my own experience, I became a certified biofeedback practitioner and have successfully treated many patients with chronic pain using biofeedback, including patients with back pain, TMJ, fibromyalgia, migraine and tension headaches, neuropathy, abdominal pain and other pain conditions. If you are in pain, it is one of the most powerful things you can do to get and stay well.
I often refer to biofeedback as “the best kept secret in medicine.” Although most people have heard the word, few people know what it is. Besides its effectiveness for pain relief, biofeedback can also help patients improve their general health and well-being.
Biofeedback uses sensitive electronic instruments to measure a patient’s bodily processes then feeds back that information to the patient so that he can learn to control his body. Biofeedback can measure muscle tension (EMG biofeedback), peripheral blood flow (temperature biofeedback), heart rate, respiration rate, skin moisture (GSR biofeedback) and electrical activity of the brain (neurofeedback). Once the patient has achieved mastery in controlling these processes, he can overcome pain and many other health problems.
Biofeedback has been successfully used to treat many chronic pain conditions. EMG biofeedback is very helpful for back pain and tension headaches. Migraine headaches can be reduced or eliminated with temperature biofeedback, EMG , and neurofeedback.. Fibromyalgia responds well to neurofeedback. General relaxation training with biofeedback benefits all pain conditions as well as improves general health.
Find a Biofeedback Practitioner
Resources for information on biofeedback, besides this website, include:
The Biofeedback Certification Alliance www.bcia.org,
The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback www.aapb.org
The International Society for Neurofeedback and Research www.isnr.org
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