Biofeedback training

Treatment of tardive dyskinesia is often unsatisfactory, especially in severe cases. A large number of treatments have been proposed (SEDA-20,40), including antiparkinsonian drugs, benzodiazepines, baclofen, hormones, calcium channel blockers, valproate, propranolol, opiates, cyproheptadine, tryptophan, lithium, manganese, niacin, botulinum toxin, ECT, dietary control, and biofeedback training. In an open study, 20 patients (mean age 65 years) with severe unresponsive tardive dyskinesia (mean duration 44 months, mean exposure 52 months) were treated with tetrabenazine (mean dose 58 mg/day) (310). The mean score on the AIMS motor subset, determined from videotapes, improved by 54%. Sedation was the only subjective complaint. 

Van der Plas RN, Benninga MA, Buller HA, et al. Biofeedback training in treatment of childhood constipation A randomized controlled study. Lancet 1996 348 766-767. 

Nonpharmacologic therapies include reassurance and counseling, stress management, relaxation training, and biofeedback. Physical therapeutic options (e.g., heat or cold packs, ultrasound, electrical nerve stimulation, massage, acupuncture, trigger point injections, occipital nerve blocks) have performed inconsistently. 

Psychotherapies for PTSD include anxiety management (e.g., stress-inoculation training, relaxation training, biofeedback, distraction techniques), CBT, group therapy, hypnosis, psychodynamic therapies, and psychoeducation. Psychotherapy may be used in patients with mild symptoms, those who prefer not to use medications, or in conjunction with drugs in those with severe symptoms to improve response. 

Biofeedback uses the idea that human beings have the ability to control the automatic functions of their bodies. For instance, a person can be trained to raise the temperature of... 

Bio feedback has been shown to have many beneficial uses. One example is the use of biofeedback to curtail the pain of migraine headaches. People trained in biofeedback can divert blood to their heads and arms and cause their hands to quickly become warmer than normal. This can effectively ease a migraine because it reduces the amount of blood in the blood... 

Relaxation techniques can address increased arousal, which can be somatic, cognitive, or both. Somatic arousal is usually modified by muscle relaxation and/or biofeedback, whereas increased cognitive arousal can be moderated by attention-focusing procedures, such as imagery training or meditation. 

The first step, relaxation, involved achieving not only deep physical relaxation but also deep mental relaxation. The induction of such a relaxed state often required a considerable length of time, especially in the beginning it was not unusual for percipients to spend five to ten minutes on this step alone, even after they had learned it well. Modem systematic techniques for relaxing the body, such as Jacobson s progressive relaxation [38], autogenic training [119], or biofeedback procedures would probably work well. Comfortable meditative postures would probably also be effective. 

Urinary incontinence, or leakage, that may be associated with diuretic use can cause social embarrassment, self-esteem issues, depression, and anxiety. A person suffering from incontinence may stop participating in social activities, sports, and other activities they once enjoyed because of the risk of embarrassing accidents. Bladder training, biofeedback, pelvic toning exercises, or special urethral or vaginal inserts may help to treat urinary incontinence problems related to diuretics. 

Psychologists have developed a technique called biofeedback, in which one concentrates on the heartbeat or breathing. The feedback comes from a machine that registers blood pressure, heart rate, or both. The apparatus and the training can be expensive, but some people find biofeedback to be very helpful. 

We should be careful about a priori definitions that certain structures must be outside awareness. Data from the rapidly developing science of biofeedback, and traditional data from yoga and other spiritual disciplines, remind us that many processes long considered totally outside conscious awarenesS can be brought to conscious awareness with appropriate training, (back)... 

A word of caution regarding biofeedback beware the weekend workshop practitioner who has little or no training as a health practitioner outside... 

Stress management, relaxation training, yoga, massage, biofeedback, and self-hypnosis... 

Train in guided imagery and biofeedback as means of stress reduction. Write at least one positive affirmative statement each day. 

Beatty, J., O Hanlon, J. E. (1979). Operant control of posterior theta rhythms and vigilance performanee Repeated treatments and transfer of training. InN. Birbaumer H. D. Kimmel (Eds.), Biofeedback and self-regulation (pp. 235-246). Hillsdale, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Lubar, J. F., Swartwood, M. O., Swartwood, J. N., GDormeU, P H. (1995). Evaluation of the effectiveness of EEG neurofeedback training for ADHD in a clinical setting as measured by changes in T.O.V.A. scores, behavioral ratings, and WISC-R performance. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, 20, 83 99. 

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