10 September 2010
For chronic pain patients, minimally-invasive, non-surgical procedures are ideal first treatments. Surgery can cause stress on the body, and brings with it an extremely long recovery time. Complementary medicine helps chronic pain patients by not only offering minimally invasive procedures, but by including other modalities including acupuncture, chiropractic care and biofeedback.
Biofeedback has been seen to aid in alleviation of symptoms in many different conditions by teaching the patient to control their body’s response to pain and stress. By having the ability to control these factors, the patient is empowered and is able to effectively lower their stress response to outside factors – whether they be anxiety related to work, stress because of major life events or pain.
There is still considerable research being performed on biofeedback, but the one common denominator physicians and researchers have seen is that it shows results for patients whose conditions are made worse by stress – which is why it has been seen to be helpful for chronic pain patients. When a person experiences pain, it is a stressor on the body, and can cause a rise in blood pressure, heart rate elevation, the body’s temperature can drop and may produce excess sweat. Biofeedback teaches the patient to recognize these factors early on, and to control the response.
According to Waldman (2007), biofeedback can allow a patient to have voluntary control over what are normally involuntary responses. Biofeedback’s main goal is to increase relaxation in the patient. During a biofeedback session, the patient will be connected to precise machines that measure physiological responses such as heart rate, breathing, brainwaves, and temperature of the skin. The patient is able to see these responses, and can visualize the changes they want to perform. For the chronic pain patient, this is especially useful. Pain causes a stress response, and by effectively lowering or eliminating that response, the patient can often see a reduction in their pain. Biofeedback has been shown to be useful for many types of ailments, including migraines, headaches, arthritis, and a multitude of other chronic pain syndromes.
Biofeedback in itself creates a link between the body and mind, and can help patients in a variety of ways. Those who receive biofeedback therapy often learn to identify what outside factors are causing their stress response. Some are able to discontinue use of prescription pain medications, others can function better with a lower dose or less frequent use. Patients are able to pair biofeedback with other treatments for maximum results.
Waldman, S.D. (2007) Pain Management, Volume II. 1010-1019. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier
