Biofeedback Flashcards
What is biofeedback?
- Using information from the body to help control functions.
- using information about muscle contraction to modify muscle activity
Biofeedback can involve various sensory inputs to modify motor control.
What does EMG biofeedback involve?
Using information about muscle contractions to modify (increase or decrease) muscle activity.
EMG stands for electromyography.
What are the requirements for EMG biofeedback?
- Active participation of the patient
- Sensor electrodes to sense electrical activity
- No electricity is administered to the patient
- patient needs to be able to use the biofeedback information
List the uses of EMG biofeedback.
- Improve motor control
- Relax an overactive muscle
- Increase activity in a weak or underactive muscle
- Can be used even if electrical stimulation is contraindicated.
What are the principles of EMG biofeedback?
- Uses visual or auditory feedback to modify muscle activity
- Electrodes detect muscle activity
- Sensitivity of recording device can usually be modified
What types of electrodes are used in EMG biofeedback?
- Standard
- Button
Electrode type varies with the unit.
How does electrode size affect EMG biofeedback?
Larger electrodes detect more muscle fibers.
Increased distance between electrodes allows detection from a larger muscle volume.
What is the unit of measurement for electrical activity in EMG biofeedback?
Measured in microvolts (µV).
What does the gain setting in EMG biofeedback indicate?
- The sensitivity of the device to detect muscle contractions.
- A lower gain means increased sensitivity.
- 1uV = unit can detect very small muscle contractions (needed when volitional activity is low)
- 1000 uV means more muscle activity needed for the machine to detect a contraction (used when volitional activity is high)
What does a gain setting of 1 µV mean?
The unit can detect very small muscle contractions.
What does a gain setting of 1000 µV mean?
More muscle activity is needed for the machine to detect contraction.
What is the EMG biofeedback threshold?
- The level of muscle activity the patient is able to reach.
- can use threshold to uptrain or downtrain muscle
How can the EMG biofeedback threshold be used in therapy?
- Uptrain muscle activity
- Downtrain muscle activity
What is uptraining in EMG biofeedback?
- Working to have the patient exceed the threshold for muscle activity.
- visual/auditory signal when patient contracts muscle above threshold
- used when muscle in underactive/weak
What is downtraining in EMG biofeedback?
- Working to inhibit muscle activity to decrease contraction levels.
- if a muscle is overactive
- can have visual or auditory signals
What is an example of initial settings for a patient post-surgery in EMG biofeedback?
Decreased muscle contraction
- Set gain low for high sensitivity to detect small muscle contractions.
- electrodes can be wide to detect any part of muscle contracting
- as patient progresses increase gain (which means greater muscle contraction will be needed for machine to register activity)
- electrod placement can be more narrow as they progress
What are other examples of biofeedback?
- Pressure biofeedback
- Wii / Wii balance board / Dance Dance Revolution / Video games
- Mirrors / mirror therapy
- Photos for posture
- Video movement analysis / electronic walkways
