Felix Laevsky’s scientific contributions for Biofeedback and relaxation in chronic pain and tension control
https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Felix-Laevsky-2024461888
- “The art of initial Biofeedback and Relaxation Training session within an Interdisciplinary Pain Management Program”
F. Laevsky, C. Gagnon, S. Stanos, J. Atchison, The Journal of Pain, Volume 15, Issue 4, Supplement, Page S110, April 2014
Study indicated that examination of patient reports and data shows that patients’ first experience during initial Biofeedback and relaxation session demonstrated their ability to reduce pain, in the majority of cases down to 0 (71%), and tension with good physiological response to relaxation.
- “Impact of self-efficacy in biofeedback and relaxation training within an interdisciplinary pain management program”
Laevsky, E. Pabst, S. Barrett, S. Stanos, C. Gagnon, The Journal of Pain , Volume 12, Issue 4, Supplement, Page P79, April 2011
Findings suggested that biofeedback and relaxation training may have a greater impact on perceived ability to cope with pain rather than actually decreasing pain.
- “Biofeedback and Relaxation Training: An Interdisciplinary Treatment Modality”
Christine Gagnon, James Atchison, Felix Laevsky, Steven Stanos AAPM & R, September, 2014 Volume 6, Issue 9, Supplement, Page S342
Biofeedback has a substantial impact on a patient’s abilities to both manage and reduce their pain and tension. Patients reported significant reductions in both pain and tension.
- “Assessing Self-Efficacy of Muscle Spasms Control and Its Impact on Intensity of Pain-Tension- Spasm-Pain Cycle within an Interdisciplinary Pain Management Program”
Felix Laevsky, Christine Gagnon, James Atchison AAPM & R, September, 2015 Volume 7, Issue 9, Supplement, Page S138
Examination of patient reports and data shows that patients receiving training in relaxation and biofeedback as part of an interdisciplinary pain program demonstrated improved muscle spasms symptoms and increased confidence in their ability to control them. Overall, it appears that improved control of muscle spasms helped to narrow pain – tension – spasm – pain cycle.
Biofeedback in medicine: who, when, why and how?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2939454/#!po=0.833333
“Biofeedback is a mind–body technique in which individuals learn how to modify their physiology for the purpose of improving physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Much like physical therapy, biofeedback training requires active participation on the part of patients and often regular practice between training sessions. Clinical biofeedback may be used to manage disease symptoms as well as to improve overall health and wellness through stress management training. Research has shown that biofeedback interventions are efficacious in treating a variety of medical conditions, and many Americans are turning to biofeedback and other less traditional therapies for their routine healthcare.
Clinical biofeedback training is growing increasingly popular in the USA, as many people are seeking out relatively new approaches to healthcare.
Biofeedback is a self‐regulation technique through which patients learn to voluntarily control what were once thought to be involuntary body processes. This intervention requires specialized equipment to convert physiological signals into meaningful visual and auditory cues, as well as a trained biofeedback practitioner to guide the therapy”.
Biofeedback in Rehabilitation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3687555/
“Biofeedback has been used for more than fifty years in rehabilitation to facilitate normal movement patterns after injury. It is the technique of providing biological information to patients in real-time that would otherwise be unknown.
The biofeedback measurements which are frequently used in physical rehabilitation can be categorized as being either physiological or biomechanical. The physiological systems of the body which can be measured to provide biofeedback are the neuromuscular system, the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system, while biomechanical biofeedback involves measurements of movement, postural control and force”.
Biofeedback in Sport: Can biofeedback training of psychophysiological responses enhance athletes’ sport performance? A practitioner’s perspective.
“In recent years, biofeedback has become increasingly popular for its proven success in peak performance training – the psychophysiological preparation of athletes for high-stakes sport competitions, such as the Olympic games. The aim of this research was to test whether an 8-week period of exposure to biofeedback training could improve the psychophysiological control over competitive anxiety and enhance athletic performance in participating subjects. Participants of this study were highly competent athletes, each training in different sport disciplines. The experimental group consisted of 18 athletes (4 women, 14 men), whereas the Control group had 21 athletes (4 women, 17 men). All athletes were between 16 and 34 years old. The biofeedback device, Nexus 10, was used to detect and measure the psychophysiological responses of athletes. Athletes from both groups (control and experimental) were subjected to stress tests at the beginning of the study and once again at its conclusion. In between, the experimental group received training in biofeedback techniques. We then calculated the overall percentage of athletes in the experimental group compared with those in the control group who were able to control respiration, skin conductance, heart rate, blood flow amplitude, heart rate variability, and heart respiration coherence. One year following completion of the initial study, we questioned athletes from the experimental group, to determine whether they continued to use these skills and if they could detect any subsequent enhancement in their athletic performance. We demonstrated that a greater number of participants in the experimental group were able to successfully control their psychophysiological parameters, in comparison to their peers in the control group.
One year following completion of the training program, all participants from the experimental group indicated that they were still using the biofeedback – psycho-regulation skills. Furthermore, these participants uniformly reported believing that these skills had enhanced their athletic performance and general well-being”.
Biofeedback in Chronic Pain
- Chronic back pain
Efficacy of Biofeedback in Chronic back Pain: a Meta-Analys
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27307013/
June 2016 International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 24(1) DOI:10.1007/s12529-016-9572-9
It is concluded that biofeedback treatment can lead to improvements on various pain-related outcomes in the short and long terms, both as a standalone and as an adjunctive intervention.
- Migraine and headaches – read here
- CRPS Chronic regional pain syndrome
Grunert, BK, Devine, CA, Sanger, JR, Matloub, HS, Green, D. (1990). Thermal self- regulation for pain control in reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. Journal Hand Surgery. 1990; July 15(4): 615-618 cited in “Biofeedback for CRPS: Why Haven’t I Tried That?” by K. Lofland, RSDSA Review digest, Treatment and research article from RSDSA review 2002-2005
The results found that patients were able to significantly increase their blood flow and significantly decrease their pain levels. This pain reduction was maintained at 1-year follow-up assessment and 14 of the 20 patients had returned to work. The conclusion was that this intervention was effective to reduce pain in CRPS/RSD for the long term, even in patients who had failed prior treatments.
- Phantom limb pain
Biofeedback in the treatment of phantom limb pain: a time-series analysis. Harden RN1, Houle TT, Green S, Remble TA, Weinland SR, Colio S, Lauzon J, Kuiken T. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2005 Mar;30(1):83-93. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15889588
Analyses of the VAS revealed that a 20% pain reduction was seen in five of the nine patients in the weeks after session 4, and that at least a 30% pain reduction (range: 25-66%) was seen in six of the seven patients in the weeks following session 6. Sensory descriptors of pain decreased more than the affective pain descriptors. These preliminary results provide some support for the use of biofeedback in the treatment of PLP and indicate the need for further, definitive study.
More about Biofeedback and chronic pain coming soon
High blood pressure
- Biofeedback-assisted cardiovascular control in hypertensive’s exposed to emotional stress: a pilot study.
Daniela Palomba 1, Marta Ghisi, Simona Scozzari, Michela Sarlo, Elisa Bonso, Francesca Dorigatti, Paolo Palatini
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21656149
A short Biofeedback-training, including guided imagery of stressful events, was effective in reducing BP reactions to a psychosocial stressor. BP measured in the clinic, and self-monitored at home were also significantly reduced in the Biofeedback-Training Group. Heart Rates-Biofeedback appears to be a suitable intervention for hypertensive patients, mostly when BP increase is associated with emotional activation.
- Stress and hypertension
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9894438/
Kulkarni S, O’Farrell I, Erasi M, Kochar MS.,
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA. WMJ. 1998 Dec;97(11):34-8.
Stress can cause hypertension through repeated blood pressure elevations as well as by stimulation of the nervous system to produce large amounts of vasoconstricting hormones that increase blood pressure. Factors affecting blood pressure through stress include white coat hypertension, job strain, race, social environment, and emotional distress. Furthermore, when one risk factor is coupled with other stress producing factors, the effect on blood pressure is multiplied. A variety of non-pharmacologic treatments to manage stress have been found effective in reducing blood pressure and development of hypertension, examples of which are meditation, acupressure, biofeedback and music therapy.