Biofeedback Benefits

If you read the latest edition of the Thrive, you noticed there is a new biofeedback provider ready to help individuals with their stress management. Professionally trained biofeedback provider with over 30 years of teaching experience, I am Karen Robertson. Believing in confidentiality for my clients and not a healthcare provider, I follow HIPAA confidentiality. I believe biofeedback is a good technique to help people learn to manage their stress instead of their stress managing them. Stress is that six letter word that can make a grown man cringe; and worse yet, sick, leading to chronic pain, anxiety, hypertension, panic disorders, TMJ, depression, post-traumatic stress, over eating, lack of concentration, or a number of other health issues. Biofeedback may be of benefit, as physicians and patients look for alternatives to helping with these conditions. More detailed information on biofeedback is explained here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/biofeedback/home/ovc-20169724.

As you may be aware of, biofeedback is a tool to help you influence your body's functions; primarily your heart rate and breathing. Biofeedback technology uses
sensors to measure information (feedback) about your body (bio). The "feedback" from the sensors help you focus on making subtle changes in your body. For example, a headache patient can learn to breathe correctly and relax muscles in their shoulders to help reduce the tension and reduce headache pain. The same is true for a dental patient with TMJ; as they learn to release the tension in their jaws, their pain decreases. A patient taking blood pressure medication and works in a high performance environment can learn to manage their stress through correct breathing, thus reducing the constriction of their blood vessels, aiding blood flow to and from their heart. Or, think of a person with attention or hyperactivity issues. When they learn to concentrate on the task at hand through breathing at their optimal breathing rate, they learn to focus and attend. Think "mind-over-matter".

Many people ask why biofeedback uses technology.
It goes back to the old saying: “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach a man how to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” The same is true with biofeedback. If a person is taught how to breathe correctly, they learn to manage their stress, hopefully for a lifetime! In biofeedback, technology allows the client to "see" their breathing and heart rate. This allows them to manage these functions. As they learn to breathe correctly, they take control of their autonomic nervous system "fight-or-flight" responses. When they control these responses (feelings), they become less stressed and in turn, their breathing, temperature, blood flow, and digestion come under control naturally. In other words, biofeedback helps the client take control of their
stress.

My office is located at the Hill Country Integrative Medicine Clinic at 1603 E. Main, Suite A, here in Fredericksburg. I would like to provide your office a stack of brochures and answer any questions you may have. My contact information is provided below and I look forward to hearing from you as I know biofeedback may positively impact your patients and their health.