Biofeedback

By using sensors connected to an amplifier and a computer, clients receive real-time information about their bodies. The information displayed is called Biofeedback (biological feedback). Equipped with knowledge about the physiological processes, athletes can manage cognitions and emotions associated with competition, control the activation levels, and achieve psychophysiological readiness of the body for best performances.

Under the word “ Biofeedback,” there are four different modalities that require specific training to apply each of them:

Peripheral Biofeedback or just Biofeedback measure physiological variables such as electromyography (sEMG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Thermal Biofeedback, Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and Respiration.
Neurofeedback is strictly for brain wave feedback also called EEG biofeedback.
Pelvic Muscle Dysfunction is for those medical professionals who use sEMG biofeedback to treat elimination disorders and chronic pelvic pain.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback is for appropriate health care or sports professionals

Focus and concentration. Breathing at your Resonance Frequency can produce calmness in the body and improve focus and concentration.

Regeneration and recovery from injury. Breathing at your Resonance Frequency increases blood flow to your extremities, which helps healing and recovery from strenuous workouts.

Managing Emotions. Cognitive anxiety is minimized when the athlete breath at its resonance. HRV Biofeedback help athletes manage moods during competitions.

Adaptability. HRV can be used as a sign of readiness after physically demanding practices and competitions.

Stress Response Psychophysiological Profile. Indicates how the athlete responds to different stressors.

Depending On Your Performance Needs, You Will Train:

Surface Electromyography (sEMG): Excessive muscle tension is associated with slower reaction time and disturbs many sport motor movements. You will learn to identify muscle tension and “let it go.”

Thermal biofeedback: Too much stress cause vessel constriction and less blood flow to the extremities. The warming of hands and feet helps to maximize recovery after injury and strenuous workouts.

Heart Rate Variability: HRV is an indicator of autonomic balance and is associated with outstanding physical and mental performance. HRV biofeedback reduces the effect of stress on multiple sports.

Breathing: Proper breathing is probably the most used skill in sport and life performance. Inappropriate breathing cause fatigue, chocking, failure to recover, busy brain (paralysis by analyses), and changes in attentional state.

Electrodermal biofeedback/Galvanic Skin Response: It helps to identify stressful moments of athletic performance during imagery rehearsal. It also helps during concentration training.

Relaxation Techniques: Learning to relax is essential to promote full recovery and optimal performance.

If you looked for Biofeedback services, you probably noticed “Biofeedback” associated with words like treatment or therapy. In fact, to find a Biofeedback practitioner in your area, you will have to search using the words “biofeedback therapy.” The association of “Biofeedback” with “treatment or therapy” occurs because mental health professionals, nurses, and physicians use Biofeedback in addition to other types of services to treat a condition.

I use the term “Biofeedback Training” not only because we are in the realm of sport, but also as a reminder that clients take an active role in practicing the skills between the sessions. As a mental performance consultant, I am adding Biofeedback to other mental skills to optimize athletic performance.

The use of biofeedback training is common among elite athletes but athletes of all levels and young as eight years old can benefit from biofeedback protocols applied to sport performance.

Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. Precise instruments measure physiological activity such as brainwaves, heart function, breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature. These instruments rapidly and accurately “feed back” information to the user. The presentation of this information — often in conjunction with changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior — supports desired physiological changes. Over time, these changes can endure without continued use of an instrument.

Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB)

Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA)

International Society for Neurofeedback and Research (ISNR)