Positive
performance using Biofeedback
Biofeedback
in sports and stress
Biofeedback is a technique that measures body
functions (HR, BP etc) and help you to train and control them. It is mainly
based on the measurement of BP, HR, RR, EEG, Muscle tension and skin conduction.
With biofeedback you are connected to the electrical sensors, which receive
information (feedback) about your body (bio).This feedback helps you to make
changes in your body for eg.relaxing certain muscles –results in reducing pain.
Previous works on biofeedback was limited to medical
problems like anxiety, insomnia, migraine, constipation, urinary incontinence,
backpain, depression, raynaud’s disease, epilepsy and paralysis. But recent
studies found positive effects of biofeedback on sports performance and stress
management.
Biofeedback
in stress:
Human health is dependent on the functioning of homeostasis.
Whenever there is homeostatic imbalance, illness results. Chronic stress can
interrupt our body’s homeostasis, leading to illness. To stay healthy we need
to reduce stress level. Stress is of course a normal fact in everyday life. It
is a physical and emotional response to certain stimuli. How affect people
stress however depends on the duration of exposure. If it is a short term our
body recovers. In fact some stress is useful for one’s performance. However long-term
exposure is serious.
A regular exercise can reduces the stress.
Biofeedback is another form of stress relief. During biofeedback session, if
your heart started beating faster when you thought about examresults, the
machine will make a click sound. By breathing deeply and relaxing you can bring
down your heart rate consciously. Then the click sound disappears. Eventually,
you can do it without the aid of the machine. The main aim of biofeedback application
in stress management is learning to recognize the stress symptoms and to
counteract them.
Biofeedback
in sports: Enhancing performance-
Application of biofeedback in sports is based on the
psycho-physiological principle. It states that every physiological change in
the body is accompanied by a corresponding emotional change and vice-versa. Biofeedback
can be a powerful device, among sports person for enhancing mental health and
self regulation to cope up with stress in preparation for sports performance.
(for additional review refer:Biofeedback posted by
Dr.R.Vinodha in vinodha’s Blog on Feb 4,2007)
