Stressed Out Students SOS

College students are stressed out.  Listen to this message about why and what is being done about it.S.O.S.
Stressed Out
Students Before young people
join us in the adult work and family responsibility world they are already
experiencing the effects of stress from the academic world.  College life is not a full time party for all
students.  There is a lot of pressure to
study, hand in assignments on time, and perform well on exams.  Students and or their parents usually have a
huge financial investment which is at risk if they don’t do well.  Most also have the stress of looking forward
to graduating with a large amount of student loan debt.  They are also already worrying about the
challenge of competing with the masses to find a job after graduation.
According to a May
27, 2015 New York Times article anxiety is the most common mental health
problem of college students.  A study by
the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State revealed that more than
half of 100,000 students indicate that anxiety is a health concern for
them.  A survey by the American College
Health Association showed that more than 16 percent of college students have
been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety within the last year.  These are numbers of people who actually seek
help.  Usually with mental health issues
including anxiety many people do not seek help. 
Considering this, the problem is even greater.   Many colleges and
universities have counseling centers to help students with problems like
anxiety and depression.  Some of them are
beginning to reach or surpass their capacity. 
 Counseling centers
offer individual and group therapy, mindfulness training, stress kits including
things like stress balls that you squeeze as a way to relieve stress, and pet
therapy.  Some also offer biofeedback which
uses technology to measure things like muscle tension, heart rate, breathing,
sweat, and brainwave activity. 
Biofeedback shows a person the levels of these signals so that they can
become more aware of the changes and learn how to regulate them by the power of
their own mind.  This gives them a sense
of control which is key in reducing anxiety. 
If you feel that you have no control in a situation you feel more
anxious.  When you feel like you have
some control in a situation it helps to reduce anxiety.   Students need to have stress management
assistance made available to them to help them to maintain or regain their
mental health as well as perform at their best in their studies. 
For a free stress
card and other free information on stress management text STRESS to 55469
Harry L. CampbellPresident,
Biofeedback Resources International
www.biofeedbackinternational.com
Author of the book
“What Stress Can Do”
www.createspace.com/3839220
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BiofeedbackResources
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Biofeedback-Resources-International-Corp/118594803123
Linked-In

Bio and Neurofeedback Protocols for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

Bio and Neurofeedback Protocols for the Treatment of Chronic Pain




Chronic Pain

Every day is more frequent to hear the expression: “I suffer from a chronic pain syndrome” or maybe “I’m a chronic pain sufferer” or “I’ve been suffering this pain for long time”. But ¿What is chronic pain? ¿Which are the differences between chronic and acute pain? In fact: ¿What is pain?
Neuroscientists and physicians agree that pain is a subjective experience in perception, a natural neurophysiological response to injury or illness and a basic process of alarm that tell us something is going wrong with our health.


Acute pain has a sudden onset and resolution –within hours, days or weeks- it is attributable to an event: injury or illness. Responds to appropriate treatment and, in some cases, has episodes associated with some conditions: like migraine or dysmenorrhea.

But chronic pain is a very different health issue. First of all, it is a maladaptive response; it’s persistent commonly defined within 3-6 months of duration. But what is most important: is difficult to treat –improvement possible and cure often elusive- and interferes with activities of daily life –work, school, social events and chores-. Several common sources of chronic pain have been identified: migraine, and other serious headaches –there have been described 150 different headaches types since 1980-, arthritis and other joint pain, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic interstitial cystitis, trauma and post-surgical pain, low back pain, cancer, stroke, diabetes just to mention some of the most common.

And ¿what is pain by the numbers? ¿What is the epidemiology of pain?


According to the Institute of Medicine Report of 2011, 80% of patients experience postoperative pain. From that number 10-50% develops chronic pain. 5% of American women aged between 28-65, experience headaches 15 or more days per month and 62% of nursing home residents report pain.
Approximately 6 million women have fibromyalgia, more than that number have neuropathic pain and 26.4% of Americans, report low back pain lasting at least a day during a 3 months period of time.

The cost of pain is awesome: 116 million U.S. adults have common chronic pain conditions. Because of that number a conservative estimate of the annual cost of chronic pain to federal and state governments in medical expenditures for pain was $99 billion. These estimates exclude: individuals in institutional settings –nursing home residents or correction inmates-, military personnel, children under the age of 18 and personal caregivers. It's also excluded the loss of productivity of workers 65 years and in all the cases: the e motional cost of pain.


The problem of chronic pain is: under-diagnosed and under-treated. Several factors have been described associated to the vulnerability to pain: age group, sex and gender, income an education, military veterans, surgical, cancer and patients at the end of life. For all these reasons it has to be concluded that chronic pain is costly and prevalent. Unfortunately chronic pain is underreported, under-diagnosed and under-treated in nearly all health care settings. Something chronic pain syndromes have in common is how poor the quality of life is to the people suffering from it and the way the physical, mental health and personal economy are permanently compromised. Looking at the numbers, epidemiology prevalence and nature of chronic pain it is to be considered that chronic pain is a disease in itself and requires a comprehensive treatment approach.

The contributions of basic and applied research in Neurosciences for the treatment chronic pain have been substantially improved and refined in recent years. In applied Neurosciences, Biofeedback and Neurofeedback have been used successfully for the treatment of different chronic pain syndromes. Applied research has demonstrated how, if chronic pain is treated by diminishing its psychophysiological components, most of them in the self-regulation spectrum, the physical, cognitive and emotional integration is reduced, as well as the physiological and physical response to the pain itself. Studying the electrophysiological components of the acute and chronic pain response, it has been described that the central and peripheral elements that can be present independently or in a constellation, also known as a pain's physiological profile and that can be permanently changed with therapy. In applied Neurosciences, therapies have been created for both types of components to be treated both: simultaneo usly or separately.

The advance in the field is incredible, professionals interested in the theme not only could start a specialty by acquiring training in Biofeedback or Neurofeedback for the management of chronic pain syndromes in general, but become specialized by defining a specific training in one or both specialties and a specific chronic pain syndrome.

With these ideas in mind, we created a seminar considering the contributions in both fields, the basic and advanced elements of each one and the protocols already proved and replicated for the most common chronic pain syndromes.
In the seminar, participants will be trained to select the proper patients/clients to be treated with the Biofeedback and Neurofeedback protocols depending on a specific chronic pain syndrome. Participants will develop the proper skills for the operation of the Bio and Neurofeedback systems for the treatment of the chronic pain syndromes, to conduct the intervention and the proper treatment and follow up protocols.

Themes like: neurophysiology and psychophysiology of chronic pain, the QEEG and psychophysiological profiles of chronic pain patients, and the neurophysiological markers in acute and chronic pain will be reviewed.
We will emphasize themes like: EEG during sleep, consciousness and endogenous evoked potentials in chronic pain syndromes.

Other themes considered in this seminar are: the psychophysiology of pain, the ANS response in acute and chronic pain, the limbic system response during chronic pain and the neurophysiology of emotions in pain in general and chronic pain in particular.

Few Biofeedback and Neurofeedback seminars consider the Bio-psychosocial model of pain, so we will be also talking about the physiological learning and social factors in chronic pain and its relation with the electrophysiology of acute and chronic pain. Normal and chronic pain electro physiological profiles are also considered.

Due to the lack of information in common Neurofeedback seminars about EEG patterns of pain; the seminar is designed to review the psychophysiological profiles and chronic pain treatment protocols in conjunction with both traditional and QEEG Neurofeedback procedures.

Normal, acute and chronic pain psychophysiological and neurophysiological readings are revisited in its relation to pain treatment protocols, (instrumentation and practice and report creation). Finally we review in detail Neurophysiological markers of acute and chronic pain, its use in assessment, treatment and relapse prevention.

This seminar is an excellent opportunity to learn from the expert and his experience about the noninvasive treatments for a health issue that has to be considered and managed as a disease in itself and requires a comprehensive treatment approach that has to be conducted by interdisciplinary health care groups.

Join the seminar and live the experience to be trained with the most reliable systems, outstanding interventions protocols and become an expert in management of one of the most costly and prevalent health issues in America today.

For more information about this article please contact the author:

Prof. Dr. Jorge J. Palacios-Venegas,
Applied Neurosciences specialist,

CEO of Biofeedback Centermr
(521)(55)39.66.12.20 (calling from or outside U. S.)

Skype: dr.jorge.j.palacios.venegas

Twitter: @palacciv

jorgepalacios@biofeedbackcentermr.com
www.biofeedbackcentermr.com
Additional information on the seminar:

http://biofeedbackinternational.com/palacios.htm

EMG Biofeedback for Tension Headaches

Using EMG Biofeedback for Tension
Headaches
 
Excess muscle tension can be the source of many headaches.  Headache medication sometimes doesn’t work
and often comes along with unwanted side effects, in some cases even inducing
more headaches (rebound headaches) which create a vicious cycle requiring more
medication followed by more headaches. 
Tension headache sufferers often don’t realize that they are
holding excess tension in their facial, neck, and upper back muscles.  Muscles are intended to generate movement and
maintain posture.  Muscles contract to
create movement.  When the movement is
completed, the muscle should return to a relaxed state.  When muscles remain contracted after movement
is completed the muscle becomes overworked and irritated.  This can trigger pain.  Tension headache pain usually is triggered by
excess tension in face muscles, including those around the eyes, in the
forehead, scalp, temples, and jaw.  The
muscles in the scalp are also connected to the neck and upper back where the source
of the problem may also be found.  When
we use EMG biofeedback for tension headaches, adhesive sensors are placed on
the site that we want to record from. 
The sites normally used are forehead – frontalis.  Sensors are placed across the forehead directly
above the eyebrows (active) and the ground directly above the bridge of the
nose in a straight line.  We can
substitute a headband for the adhesive sensors when we are measuring EMG from
the forehead.  The sensors are attached
to an EMG biofeedback instrument.  Some
of the instruments are self-contained and the feedback information is given by
lights and sounds that indicate even small changes in the level of tension in
the muscles that we are recording from.  Other
instruments are connected to a computer and give even more detailed feedback
including line graphs and bar graphs. 
The computer systems can also store data and print reports.  The person then uses the feedback information
to become more aware of the level of tension and how it changes based on what
they are doing.  We can detect tension in
the forehead, around the eyes, in the jaw, tongue, lips, scalp, temples, and
even the throat.  The person learns how
to relax all of these muscles through a combination of the direct feedback from
the instrument, relaxation exercises like progressive muscle relaxation, and
the coaching and encouragement provided by the biofeedback therapist.  Sessions are provided at the biofeedback provider’s
office 1-3 times per week for 6-20 sessions. 
It is strongly recommended that the person also practice muscle
relaxation and control at home.   Home
biofeedback instruments may be rented or purchased for this purpose.  As the person learns how to notice when they
are tensing their muscles and how to release the tension, the intensity and
frequency of their headaches tends to decrease. 
Other biofeedback modalities like skin temperature may also be
used.  That’s about it.  Unlike medication there are no negative
side-effects.  The possible positive
side-effects include less neck, upper back, and jaw pain, better ability to
relax, better muscle control for sports, and more energy.  That’s not bad at all!
 
For more information on biofeedback providers, biofeedback
training, and biofeedback instruments check the following resources:
www.mindbodydevices.com
– A website with resources for personal biofeedback and stress management
products and services
www.biofeedbackinternational.com
– A website for professional biofeedback equipment and training
www.aapb.org – A website
with information on biofeedback for consumers and professionals
www.bcia.org – A website
with listings of certified biofeedback providers and information on
certification for professionals
www.nrbs.org – A website
with listings of biofeedback providers in the northeast USA as well as other
biofeedback related information
Article by Harry L. Campbell
President, Biofeedback Resources International Corp
914-762-4646
Email: Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com
Twitter: Biofeedbackman
Facebook: Biofeedback Resources International
Linked-In Harry L. Campbell
 
Please refer to the following for more information on
biofeedback for tension headaches:
 
Nestoriuc, Y., Martin, A., Rief, W. & Andrasik, F.
(2008). Biofeedback treatment for headache disorders: A comprehensive efficacy
review.Preview Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 33(3), 125-140.
 
Andrasik, F. (2007). What does the evidence show? Efficacy
of behavioural treatments for recurrent
headaches in adults. Neurological Sciences, 28, Suppl 2,
S70-7.
Arena, J.G., Bruno, G.M., Hannah, S.L., & Meader, K.J.
(1995). Comparison of frontal
electromyographic biofeedback training, trapezius
electromyographic biofeedback training, and
progressive muscle relaxation therapy in the treatment of
tension headache. Headache, 35(7), 411-419.
Arndorfer, R.E., & Allen, K.D. (2001). Extending the
efficacy of a thermal biofeedback treatment
package to the management of tension-type headaches in
children. Headache, 41(2), 183-92.
Blanchard, E.B., & Kim, M. (2005). The effect of the
definition of menstrually related headache on the
response to biofeedback treatment. Applied Psychophysiology
and Biofeedback, 30(1), 53-63.
Ciancarelli, I., Tozzi-Ciancarelli, M.G., Spacca, G., Di
Massimo, C., & Carolei, A. (2007). Relationship
between biofeedback and oxidative stress in patients with
chronic migraine. Cephalalgia, 27(10),
1136-1141.
Conner, S.J., & Rideout, S. (2005). What are the best
therapies for acute migraine in pregnancy? Journal
of Family Practice, 54(11), 992-5.
Damen, L., Bruijn, J., Koes, B.W., Berger, M.Y., Passchier,
J., & Verhagen, A.P. (2006). Prophylactic
treatment of migraine in children: Part 1. A systematic
review of nonpharmacological trials. Cephalalgia,
26(4), 373-383.
Devineni, T., & Blanchard, E.B. (2005). A randomized
controlled trial of an internet-based treatment for
chronic headache. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43(3),
277-292.
Hermann, C., & Blanchard, E.B. (2002). Biofeedback in
the treatment of headache and other childhood
pain. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback, 27(2),
143-162.
Kaushik, R., Kaushik, R.M., Mahajan, S.K., & Rajesh, V.
(2005). Biofeedback-assisted diaphragmatic
breathing and systematic relaxation versus propranolol in
long term prophylaxis of migraine.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 13(3), 165-174.
Labbe, E.E. (1995). Treatment of childhood migraine with
autogenic training and skin temperature
biofeedback: A component analysis. Headache, 35(1), 10-13.
Martin, P.R., Forsyth, M.R., & Reece, J. (2007).
Cognitive-behavioral therapy versus temporal pulse
amplitude biofeedback training for recurrent headache.
Behavior Therapy, 38(4), 350-363.
McGrady, A., Wauquier, A., McNeil, A., & Gerard, C.
(1994). Effect of biofeedback-assisted relaxation
on migraine headache and changes in cerebral blood flow
velocity in the middle cerebral artery.
Headache, 34(7), 424-428.
Nestoriuc, Y., & Martin, A. (2007). Efficacy of
biofeedback for migraine: A meta-analysis. Pain, 128(1-
2), 111-127.
Rokicki, L.A., Holroyd, K.A., France, C.R., Lipchik, G.L.,
France, J.L., & Kvaal, S.A. (1997). Change
mechanisms associated with combined relaxation/EMG
biofeedback training for chronic tension
headache. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback, 22(1),
21-41.
Rokicki, L.A., Houle, T.T., Dhingra, L.K., Weinland, S.R.,
Urban, A.M., & Bhalla, R.K. (2003). A
preliminary analysis of EMG variance as an index of change
in EMG biofeedback treatment of tensiontype
headache. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 28(3),
205-215.
Silberstein, S.D. (2000). Practice parameter: Evidence-based
guidelines for migraine headache (an
evidence-based review): Report of the quality standards
subcommittee of the American Academy of
Neurology. Neurology, 55, 754-762.
Trautmann, E., Lackschewitz, H., & Kroner-Herwig, B.
(2006). Psychological treatment of recurrent
headache in children and adolescents — a meta-analysis.
Cephalalgia, 26(12), 1411-1426.
Vasudeva, S., Claggett, A.L., Tietjen, G.E., & McGrady,
A.V. (2003). Biofeedback-assisted relaxation in
migraine headache: Relationship to cerebral blood flow
velocity in the middle cerebral artery. Headache,
43(3), 245-50.
Verhagen, A.P., Damen, L., Berger, M.Y., Passchier, J.,
Merlijn, V., & Koes, B.W. (2005). Conservative
treatments of children with episodic tension-type headache:
A systematic review. Journal of Neurology,
252(10), 1147-1154.
 

Technology and Stress

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier right?  In many ways it has.  Word processing, desktop publishing, database and many other software programs and personal computers allow us to do many things faster and less expensively than ever before.  Cell phones, smart phones, and tablets have made communications and computing portable and more convenient.  That’s the good news.  The not so good news is that with all of the advances, increased power, and time savings most of us just end up doing more which causes more stress.  Instead of using the saved time to relax we are now expected to get more done.  So is the technology causing stress?  Is technology bad because it is adding to our stress?  The way that some technology is used may in fact contribute to stress but biofeedback is a technology that can be used to help people learn to reduce their negative responses to stress.  Biofeedback technology allows the measurement of muscle tension, skin temperature, skin conductance, respiration, heart rate / heart rate variability, and EEG – brainwaves.   By using this technology people learn how to regulate their physiology to improve health and performance.  There many applications including mental health, pain management, rehabilitation, education, business, sports.
Erik Peper, Ph.D. is an expert in teaching people how to use biofeedback technology to reduce negative responses to stress.   Read more about this work and a workshop he will be teaching in New York City May 4-5, 2012. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9348942.htm
 
I receive many calls at my office from people in the general public looking for biofeedback providers in their area.  These calls come from all over the Unites States.  There are just not enough people providing biofeedback yet.  There is an opportunity for healthcare providers to expand their businesses by adding this service to their practice.  This can attract new clients as well as offer existing clients another service.
Harry L. Campbell
Biofeedback Resources International
www.biofeedbackinternational.com
www.mindbodydevices.com
Facebook: Biofeedback Resources International
Twitter: biofeedbackman
 

 
 

 
 

 

Biofeedback, Stress & Illness

Up to 90% of the doctor visits in the USA may be triggered by a stress-related illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 
Biofeedback is an effective way to reduce the negative effects of stress.  Why is that important?  Because stress can make you sick and can even lead to death if uncontrolled.  We can learn to do something about stress.  Biofeedback helps you to control things like your heart rate, muscle tension, and brainwaves.  Your body should normally recover from stress reactions quickly and return to a normal, balanced state.  That doesn’t always happen.  Biofeedback measures how much change there is and in what direction it is.  You can then use biofeedback to measure the effects of techniques like guided relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation to see the positive effects and the return to a balanced state.
 
 
Here is a link to a good presentation on stress and illness:
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers8einmodules/content/cat_570/PDFs/Module%2041.pdf
 
Here is an example of how stress can affect health.  Stress probably played a part in the quick death of former coach of the Penn State University football team Joe Paterno. 
 
Although he was at an advanced age he was still coaching up to a few months before he passed.  I strongly doubt that he would have passed so soon.  Imagine after such a record breaking, long career and the honor he received, to be fired and have his career end in a cloud of scandal.  Now that’s stress.  Here is an article that talks about it more.
 
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/sex-relationships/lifesolutions/post/2012-01-22/how-stress-may-have-played-a-role-in-paternos-death/609444/1
 
 
Harry L. Campbell
www.biofeedbackinternational.com  (healthcare professionals)
www.mindbodydevices.com   (general public)

Fighting Cancer book signing meets Biofeedback BCIA Certification Training

On June 28, 2011 I went to the Westchester Airport to meet Erik Peper, Ph.D. We went straight to the Barnes and Noble Store on Central Avenue in Yonkers, Ny. He was scheduled to do a book signing for his new book that he authored along with Robert Gorter, MD, Ph.D. The title of the book is "Fighting Cancer, A Nontoxic Approach to Treatment". In this book many effective non-traditional cancer treatments are discussed. Traditional cancer treatments can often be ineffective and very unpleasant. I believe that we should be open to the other therapies that are available so that people can decide on how they will battle cancer if they find themselves in the position of dealing with it. There are also many things that can be done to reduce the likelihood of getting cancer in the first place.
Although this is not a biofeedback book it does teach many techniques that can be assisted by biofeedback like diaphragmatic breathing and muscle relaxation. This book is for all healthcare professionals as well as people who do not work in healthcare. No matter what you do for a living, you probably know someone who has been affected by cancer. You should read this book and give a copy to someone you care about.
I have been blessed to know Erik Peper for many years. He is a great asset to Biofeedback Resources International as part of our Health Training Seminars faculty. I hope to have him teach some workshops with us covering some of the material in this book.
The day after the book signing Erik began teaching a 5-Day BCIA Biofeedback Certification seminar for us. The class included healthcare professionals from various parts of the country. It was a great session.
Erik Peper will be teaching another BCIA Biofeedback Workshop for us this summer.  Visit our website: www.biofeedbackinternational.com for details.

Biofeedback Tour of Raleigh, NC

On November 19, 2010 I headed out for a road trip to Raleigh, NC.  I packed the car with plenty of water, snacks, audio CDs and of course, my biofeedback equipment.  I was in for a busy weekend of biofeedback activity.  I drove most of the day and arrived at my friend Henri Belfon’s home on Friday evening.  Henri is an educational psychologist who has a great interest in using neurofeedback with students for ADD/ADHD, learning disorders, and behavior problems.
 
Henri and I met many years ago at an AAPB conference.  We have remained friends since then.  He has trained with Lynda and Michael Thompson as well as Adam Crane and me in neurofeedback and biofeedback.  He is also an avid fisherman.  I also like to fish so I’m looking to pick up some tips. 
 
We watched a little TV and chatted a bit before I rested up for the night.  On Saturday morning I went to Shaw University to do a radio interview on a show called Traces of Places and Faces.  The show airs on Saturday mornings from 9:00am – 11:00 am on WSHA 88.9 FM in Raleigh, NC.
 
The show is hosted by a fascinating lady named Margaret Rose Murray.  She owns two private schools in Raleigh.  One is an elementary school and the other is a preschool.  She started and built up the schools with the help of her husband Kenneth Murray-Mohammad who was a community leader, artist, and musician.  Two doctors from the community are regulars on the radio show.  The panel discussed issues including high school and college graduation rates, imprisonment rates, and health problems like hypertension and diabetes in the minority community. 
 
Ms. Murray, the host introduced me and asked me to talk about biofeedback.  I explained what biofeedback is and gave my story about how I got started in biofeedback.  I talked about my involvement in the Yonkers, NY Public School Neurofeedback Project.  We talked about how many children were helped through the program at no cost to their parents.  I talked about my clinical experiences providing biofeedback in a pain management setting for people with headaches, neck and back pain, anxiety, and sleep problems.  I also answered several questions from the host, panelists, and a listener who called in.  Before I knew it the show was almost over.  I initially thought I was only going to get a chance to talk for 10 minutes or so but it was almost 40 minutes.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the radio show.  Being in the studio at Shaw University reminded me of the days when I hosted my own music radio show on WOSS at Ossining High School.  The station has a lovely studio and a wonderful selection of music.
 
After the show Ms. Murray took me on a tour of both of her schools.  She showed me the classrooms, computer room, kitchen, examples of the students work, and several awards they have received.  She also showed me many of the paintings that her husband Kenneth had created that decorated the walls of the hallways.  She told me the stories behind several of the pieces.  Ms. Murray invited me back to her school to do a presentation on biofeedback and neurofeedback at her school the next time I am in Raleigh.  I will definitely take her up on it. 
 
The next day I taught an all day practical skills biofeedback workshop for a small group.  We covered EMG, Temperature, Skin Conductance, Respiration, Heart Rate, and EEG.  I explained the source of the signal, identifying a proper signal, setting amplitude, time scales, thresholds, and identifying and reducing artifacts.  I used the book Biofeedback Mastery by Erik Peper as a source for the lab exercises that we did during the workshop.  I did demonstrations and helped the participants practice hookups for each modality.  I was also able to help one of the participants get a Procomp2 system that he has had for some time to work properly.  He also learned how to use it.
Ms. Veda Denning-McKenzie of Ventura Realty was kind enough to allow us to use the meeting room in her office complex for the workshop.
 
On the final day of my Raleigh tour I had the honor of making a presentation for Dr. Willa Casstevens’ Human Behavior and the Social Environment class at NC State University.  I introduced them to biofeedback and how it can be used as a tool to help measure physiological responses to stress and relaxation.  We discussed biofeedback applications in stress management, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), pain, ADD/ADHD, test anxiety, headaches, and performance enhancement.  I enjoyed speaking to the group and the presentation was well received. 
 
That concluded my three day biofeedback tour of Raleigh, NC.  I went back to Henri’s house to relax for the night and headed out in the morning bound for home.  It was a long but successful trip.  I was happy to get home to recover and prepare for my next trip to Houston, TX which would follow in only a couple of weeks.

U-Control Tutorial

This video shows how to use the U-Control EMG Biofeedback instrument for incontinence and pelvic pain.  Learn how to set the controls, read the displays, adjust the controls, install the battery, and connect the sensors.

Body Position Affects Mood

Did you know that your body position can affect your mood?
Erik Peper, Ph.D. discusses this while teaching a BCIA Certification biofeedback seminar in 2008 in Chicago.  Watch the video.
For more information on seminars taught by Erik Peper visit : www.biofeedbackinternational.com

Quantum Biofeedback, Is It Really Biofeedback?

Quantum Biofeedback - Is it really biofeedback? - by Harry Campbell
I have been approached by a few people recently who had an interest in biofeedback. What they had heard about biofeedback involved what is called "Quantum Biofeedback". I am sure that for the few people who have approached me there are probably at least hundreds more who have been made to think that this is what biofeedback is. That is dead wrong. I hope to shed some light on the confusion caused by this mislabeling.
With real biofeedback clients learn to regulate their own physiology based on the feedback from the instruments that are measuring them. The physiological measures involved in true biofeedback include EMG (electromyography) for measurement of muscle activity, Skin Temperature, Skin Conductance, Heart Rate, EEG (Electroencephalograph) for the measurement of brainwave activity, and Respiration. True biofeedback instruments are not directly diagnosing disease or specific problems with internal body organs like the liver and kidneys. The labeling of instruments that claim to do these things as biofeedback is causing confusion especially for people who are just learning about biofeedback for the first time. I am not passing judgment at this time on the effectiveness of such systems although I do question it. Biofeedback does not directly treat internal organs by introducing signals into the body. Biofeedback helps a person learn how to self-regulate their physiology which in turn helps to improve their health, quality of life, and performance.
Microcurrent therapy is a non-biofeedback modality that I do promote as an effective therapy but I do not call it biofeedback. That would be inaccurate and misleading. It is a modality that can be complimentary to biofeedback. It is not biofeedback because it is not measuring the physiology and it is not feeding back information to the client. It is introducing an electrical signal into the body that is therapeutic.
"Quantum Biofeedback" is also a non-biofeedback modality. It should not be called biofeedback. I have not tried one of these devices myself so I am not going to say what they can or cannot do from experience. I have read several articles that were written about them though. Here are several links to articles that describe some of the problems with this type of device. "Fraud", "snake oil", and "banned by the FDA" are all terms that are mentioned in the articles. Please be careful!
http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2004061364_miracle09m.html http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004020583_miracle18m2.html http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/epfx.cancer.systemic.2.655756.html http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/116647 http://www.epfx.blogspot.com
I strongly suggest that you investigate and try to understand how these devices really operate before you use them. Also do not refer to them as biofeedback. They are not biofeedback according to the accepted definitions, including the AAPB (Association for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback) and BCIA (Biofeedback Certification Institute of America) definitions. Referring to these instruments incorrectly as biofeedback can be confusing and misleading to other professionals like other biofeedback therapists and referring healthcare providers, clients, and insurance companies.
Please visit websites like the following to learn about true biofeedback: http://www.biofeedbackinternational.com 
http://www.aapb.org
http://www.bcia.org
http://www.isnr.org
http://www.nrbs.org
All of these sites offer free information on biofeedback.