Biofeedback for Pain Management

Managing Your Pain The experience of pain or discomfort from time to time is common to most of us. However, some people become so uncomfortable with pain that it prevents them from working, enjoying family and friends, or maintaining an active physical lifestyle. The Biofeedback & Family Therapy Center, working in conjunction with other professionals, may help those suffering from pain begin to lesson the severity and frequency of pain, decrease medication dependence, cope with pain and return to a realistic social work functioning. Some Facts About Pain 75 million Americans suffer chronic, handicapping pain (Tollison). Back pain is the most common disability among Americans, while headache and arthritic pain account for 265 million workdays lost per year. As of 1987, $16 billion is spent annually of back pain medication prescription medication, while $1 billion is spent on over the counter analgesics (Snook; 1987). The most commonly treated pain disorders are: Back and Neck Pain from Injury or Trauma Headaches Musculoskeletal Pain Myofascial or Muscular Pain Arthritis Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction. But What is Pain? "Pain is an unpleasant experience that we primarily associate with tissue damage or disease, as described in terms of tissue damage or both (Int. Assoc. for the Study of Pain)" Also, "...pain is defined as a complex personal, subjective, unpleasant experience involving sensations and perceptions that may or may not be related in any way to injury, illness, or other body trauma... influenced by psychosocial, ethnocultural, motivational, as well as biological, physiological, chemical and other factors... (Aronoff, McAlery.) Acute pain is usually less than thirty days and usually comes to some resolvement, while chronic pain lasts for more than 6 months and tends to dominate one's life with feelings of depression and anxiety and can lead to great interpersonal problems and financial disaster. About Our Treatment Team The treatment of chronic pain requires the coordinated efforts of a broadly based treatment team which can bring a number of physical and psychological strategies together. "Chronic Pain patients demand more effort and resources than a single, well meaning practitioner can provide (Cole, 1990)" The Biofeedback and Family Therapy Center focuses on 2 aspects of treatment. Biofeedback is used both in evaluation and treatment of pain disorders and counseling is used to help clients better cope with the pain they experience. Through counseling one can better understand the symptoms of pain and reduce its effects on family and work situations. We work closely with physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturists and other health care professionals working in other offices to better treat the patient. What is Biofeedback? Biofeedback is a treatment technique whereby physiological information is measured and presented back to the client moment-by -moment through a computer monitor and audio signal. Clients can learn to control muscle tension activity, heart-rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, sweat gland activity, gastric motility and brainwaves. In cases of pain disorders, the focus is on muscle activity, both at rest and in action. Stress Testing A Psychophysiological Evaluation is made to determine which physiological systems are most reactive to distress and to relaxation. IT is with this kind of testing that one can monitor dysregulation which occurs as a result of emotional conflict. Through biofeedback training one can learn self regulation skills leading to a healthier physical and emotional disposition. Dynamic Muscle Scanning Through a comparison of symmetrical sets of muscles, clients can learn to reduce or eliminate: Hypertonicity or Spasm Splinting and bracing Poor body mechanics Poor recovery from extension to relaxation When looking at muscle behavior of right and left muscles such as those on both sides of the neck, and studying those muscles while in static and dynamic postures, we can better understand how to treat a particular condition. Dynamic muscle scanning presents information on soft tissue injury which does not show up on X-ray , CAT-Scan or M.R.I. Benefits At The Biofeedback & Family Therapy Center, the patient with pain can benefit from: General relaxation skills Specific muscle relaxation and reeducation skills Individual psychotherapy to deal with emotions Family or couple therapy Talk to others with similar problems in group counseling Biofeedback and Psychotherapy are reimbursable by most 3rd party payers. It is recommended that you find out your specific health care coverage before you begin treatment. Let us know how we can meet your needs. Contact Steven C. Kassel at s@kassel.us. ©1997-2010 Steven C. Kassel - All Rights Reserved