About Biofeedback and Neurofeedback, Brain Wave Stimulation and ADD or ADHD Therapy...
Biofeedback systems are tools to aid relaxation as opposed to stress management techniques. They are widely used procedures that treat an ever-lengthening list of conditions. Some of these include:
Migraine headaches
Tension headaches
Other types of chronic pain
Disorders of the digestive system
Incontinence
High blood pressure
Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormalities in the rhythm of the heartbeat)
ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
Raynaud's disease (a circulatory disorder that causes uncomfortably cold hands)
Epilepsy
Paralysis, spinal cord injury and other movement disorders
Biofeedback systems use electronic sensors to measure stress, and then feed the results of this measurement back to the user. This feedback may take the form of movement of a pen on a graph plotter, or may be by the pitch of sound coming through earphones. The difference in readings or outputs reflects the different bodily reactions. This feedback allows you to experiment with stress management techniques, and actually see or hear them taking effect on your body. It allows you to practise different ways of using the techniques and compare the results.
Biofeedback methods are useful ways of actually demonstrating the effectiveness of what may otherwise seem to be fairly obscure methods of relaxing such as imagery. They provide real observable information that can be monitored and recorded. This helps to fine-tune the use of stress management techniques, so that they can be applied to different types of stressful situation.
There are three main approaches to biofeedback: skin temperature methods, skin electrical activity methods and muscle electrical activity. Different instruments feed back signals about different aspects. Feeding back allows the user to begin to control an activity. Apparatus can also be used to relax a muscle that has got 'stuck' in a tense and painful state.
