Biofeedback Flashcards
What is biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a method of stress management that aims to make people aware of their body’s responses to stress and then learn how to counteract them and control their stress levels in any future situations.
What are the types of biofeedback?
Breathing rate
Heart rate
Muscle tension
How does biofeedback work?
The patient is attached to a monitor, which will give a visual or auditory indication that the body is responding to stressors in an undesired way. For example, the patient may have a monitor that sounds like a buzzer when the heart rate becomes too high. Or a light may flash when muscles tense up.
What do the patients do when they are told by the monitor that their biology is responding to stress?
They are taught techniques to reduce the biological response. This could include relaxation methods to reduce muscle tension, or breathing techniques to slow down respiration.
Who conducted the key study in biofeedback?
Lemaire et al
What was Lemaire et al’s aim of the study?
To see if biofeedback could help to reduce stress in a group of doctors
What was Lemaire et al’s procedure?
A group of 40 Doctors were placed in either the biofeedback group or the control group. All participants were given twice weekly support visits from the researchers over a 28 day period, but half of them were also trained in how to use a biofeedback device three times a day during the same time period
What were Lemaire et al’s results?
Doctors in the biofeedback group showed a significant reduction in reported stress at the end of the 28 days
What was Lemaire et al’s conclusion?
Regular biofeedback can help to reduce stress in Doctors
finish the evaluation: biofeedback is less invasive than drug treatments with less risk of side effects or possible addiction
This it is more suitable for long term treatment and will be suitable for more people in comparison to drug therapy.
finish the evaluation: this treatment may be more costly than drug therapies as patients require specialist equipment and training in how to use it.
However her equipment is being developed all the time, such as wearable devices and apps you can download. Meaning eventually the treatment may become cheaper and easily available.
finish the evaluation: although evidence suggests it is effective, little is understood about how biofeedback works.
Some would argue that the effects seen are merely the result of the relaxation techniques taught and not necessarily the actual biofeedback itself. It could also be a placebo effect caused by people expecting to feel better because they are told biofeedback will work.
