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Asthma & more
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An effective asthma treatment solution...biofeedback training
Fundamentally, biofeedback does two things. One, it measures one's body processes such as galvanic skin response, blood pressure, heart rate and so on. Second, it provides real-time information to the patient about these processes. As a result, the person becomes aware of these processes as they occur. With some training, they can now gain some conscious control over them (or over other related functions of the body.) Some results with biofeedback have been quite dramatic. For instance, the National Institutes of Health conducted studies where they found that patients can use biofeedback to lower their blood pressure! Similarly, a person can influence their heartbeat as well. There's something called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and biofeedback is part of it. When Dr. Neal Miller, a Yale neuroscientist, stated that conscious control over automatic body processes is possible, he was scoffed at by the medical establishment. They said it was impossible. But several rounds of research done by different groups showed that controlling unconscious functions was, in fact, quite possible. So what does all this have to do with alternative therapies & asthma treatment solution? When an asthma attack strikes, the patients airways are constricted because the muscles surrounding them get inflamed and contract. If it were possible to relax these muscles, airflow would immediately become easier. The patient's asthma symptoms would reduce or be eliminated. With biofeedback, it is possible to accomplish such muscle relaxation. There are other aspects to it as well. Asthma patients tend to have abnormal breathing patterns. An example is what is known as 'barrel breathing'. A deep breath is taken in, but the patient doesn't breathe out fully. Instead, they take many shallow breaths in and out. As a result their lungs don't empty completely and so can't be refilled with fresh, oxygen-laden air. A specific routine called pneumographic biofeedback can help with this. Barrel breathing produces altered heart rates, which asthmatics learn to recognize using the biofeedback process. By becoming aware of it, they learn to change their breathing pattern and also change their heart rate. It appears that the kind of biofeedback described above even helps to reduce inflammation of the lungs and promotes normal breathing, apart from cutting down on asthma symptoms. It can result in lower usage of medication and significantly improved pulmonary function. According to the National Institutes of Health, if you wish to utilize alternative therapies like biofeedback, you must work with a well-trained, competent professional and keep your regular doctor fully in the know. Your doctor may need to adjust your medication depending on your progress with biofeedback approaches. Biofeedback is an alternative asthma treatment solution that has shown reasonable effectiveness. It is something you may want to discuss with your doctor.
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