Epilepsy Talk

Biofeedback for Epilepsy, Pain, Parkinson’s and More… | March 25, 2021

This breakthrough news comes from Bottom Line Health…

“People with Epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or addictions may be able to learn how to ‘think themselves better’ by altering their brain waves to improve their symptoms.

A new form of treatment called biofeedback (also known as neurofeedback) has a unique focus on controlling brain wave activity rather than skin temperature, heart rate, breathing and muscle tension.

Biofeedback now is used with a wide scope of health issues, including not only those listed above but also autism, chronic pain, post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety…

High-Tech Mind-Body Medicine

According to research, many neurological problems involve disordered brain waves. Biofeedback helps patients learn to set them right.

The brain produces brain waves at varying electrical frequencies measured in hertz (cycles per second).

Delta — 1 to 3 Hz and the slowest of all, is mostly seen during sleep.

Theta — 4 to 7 Hz, a state of deep relaxation that can bring bursts of creative insight. It occurs during daydreaming and advanced meditation.

Alpha — 8 to 13 Hz, a pleasurable, relaxed state associated with being calm and lucid. it occurs in some forms of meditation and sometimes with dream sleep.

Beta — 14 to 30 Hz, is the frequency produced during normal waking activities, when you are processing information for daily living, problem solving, etc.

High Beta — any Beta over 21 Hz, these waves show that the brain is in its racing mode associated with anxiety and tension.

Many patients with neurological problems tend toward either under or over arousal of the brain. Biofeedback teaches methods to gain control by using video display (like a video game) images that correspond to different brain waves.

Working with the therapist, people can learn ways to produce faster or slower waves. Even children can do this.

Mind Control?

People with ADD or depression, or who suffer from mental fog and lethargic thinking in general, benefit from learning how to speed up their brain waves — those who need to slow them down to calm over-arousal include people with compulsions, autism, post traumatic stress disorder, chronic-pain disorders, epilepsy and insomnia. Parkinson’s disease patients can benefit from slower brain waves that relax their nervous systems and contribute to better motor functioning.

Biofeedback technology is continuing to evolve.

Where there used to be just a few approaches, therapists now have many well-researched training protocols to work with, and their techniques become more customized as the science and training are refined.

For instance, placement of electrodes varies depending on the issue being addressed — for people with ADD, electrodes are placed directly on the scalp, above the frontal cortex, which controls the function of paying attention.

Practical Advice

The goal of biofeedback is to recognize how it feels to operate in the desired brain wave activity range and to then learn how to get there at will.

Effective training typically takes 10 or more sessions, depending on the problem. Prices vary by area and may range from $50 to more than $100/session. Some health insurance plans cover biofeedback for some conditions, but usually only after you get a diagnosis and prescription from your doctor.

Biofeedback can be a powerful technique, but only when it’s performed by a Biofeedback Certified Professional (BCP) who is well-trained specifically in this technique — especially in light of the fact that many who call themselves qualified have completed just a weekend training program. (I don’t need to tell you, there are a lot of quacks out there!)

Look for a practitioner who is certified by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America:http://www.bcia.org/ This means that, among other credentials, the practitioner has had 25 hours of practice mentored by a BCIA-approved practitioner and 100 patient/client sessions reviewed and approved by BCIA.

Biofeedback can benefit healthy people, too.  For example, it’s excellent for performance enhancement, which includes training athletes, business professionals and even members of the military.

Certainly this is a therapy worth looking into — it’s noninvasive and drug-free, not terribly expensive, and may help with many conditions.”

Sources:

Celeste De Bease, PhD, medical psychologist and bioneurofeedback therapist, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Bottom Line Daily Health News

---