Could Biofeedback Be On Your Chronic Pain Gift List?

A study on the effects of mindfulness (a type of meditation focusing on the present without judgment) looked at changes in the brain and pain sensitivity. The results showed that those of us with higher innate mindfulness report less pain. Higher mindfulness was also associated with greater deactivation of a brain region involved in attention and subjective emotional responses to sensations, which means it promotes cognition and enables us to improve our reactions to pain and other symptoms. A recent study  published November 5, 2018 in NeuroImage suggests neurofeedback could be a cost effective way of helping improve fibromyalgia pain and sleep. This is consistent with the findings of other studies on the benefits of mindful exercises and neurofeedback in chronic pain from many sources.

That’s great news, but some of my readers tell me they can’t get a handle on any type of meditation to minimize their experience with chronic pain. My response is based on my personal experiences, keep practicing—until. I have practiced meditation for over fifty years. That’s how long I have lived with migraine disease. I also learned the value of focused breathing during 24 hours of labor with each of my two children. But, it would be nearly three decades later before I learned the value of biofeedback. I had objective evidence of how my thoughts affect the vital signs of my life. And, now you can too.

Technology has brought us to a new place. We can monitor and react to our meditation practices at home. We don’t have to wonder if what we are thinking is right or helpful. So, I asked an expert about biofeedback a few questions. The expert was once my therapist and now he is my co-author, Dr. Jeff Miller, PhD.

Q:  Is the program I used in your office still available?

Jeff:

Wild Divine's Journey to Wild Divine, the program you are familiar with, is no longer available. About six programs used the fingertip sensors for both heart rate variability (HRV) and galvanic skin resistance (GSR), also called skin conductivity level (SCL). As new programs were developed, the company quit supporting the sensors and went to a wired ear clip that only measures heart rate.

Q: What is available now?

Jeff:

Lightstone (Wild Divine) was bought out by Unyte™, which developed the Bluetooth version of the ear clip for HRV. This is a plus, because the wired ear clips often fail if the wire moves.

Unyte™ IOM2 is working on a GSR sensor, and they are selling subscriptions now rather than software. 

Muse™ is a wireless neurofeedback device that tracks your brain signals. I use daily and I love it. You wear it like a headband across the forehead and you Bluetooth it to a device. 

Q: Why do you love Muse so much?

Jeff:

·        It reads your brainwaves and rewards you for increased alpha and gamma wave production by altering the sound environment on the device such as, rainforest, beach, ambient music etc.

·        You get real-time feedback on your mental state to help you meditate.

·        It is very dependable and entertaining. 

·        It is very intuitive and simple to learn.

·        You can wear it anywhere and use it in any situation that allows the sensors to stay in contact with forehead and ears.

·        Muse keeps your stats like a Fitbit™ does.

·        It issues challenges and encouragement. 

·        There's an expanding library of device accessible guided meditations and discussions (Deepak does some!).

·        It is well supported. 

·        They have a very good monthly Museletter.

·        At $199 Muse™ is affordable for a home neurofeedback device.

* You can receive a 15% discount at https://choosemuse.com/ by using Jeff’s sponsor code AMBASSADOR15-20180911. The discount code is applied at checkout. My total was $169.15 and shipping is free. In full disclosure, as a sponsor Jeff receives 10%.  

Am I promoting biofeedback? You bet I am, and can hardly wait to see the Muse in my stocking this year. I realize meditation isn’t going to cure the illness that causes my pain and other symptoms, but I know it will help me cope in a positive way and bring balance to the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual balance we talk about in our books. It will give me some control!

Additional Reading:

A Brain Under Siege: Centralization, Chronic Pain, And Fibromyalgia

In healing,

Celeste Cooper, RN / Author, Freelancer, Advocate

Think adversity?-See opportunity!

http://www.CelesteCooper.com

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Rolfing® and Chronic Pain: An Update from Expert, Ann M. Matney

September is “Pain Awareness Month”, so I couldn’t think of a better time to share this most important update, or unofficial addendum, to our Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain book.

Expert at the Rolfing Institute, Ann M. Matney, was kind enough to let me know the nitty gritty. Following is what she shared.

As human beings going through life, we develop postural and movement patterns that deeply inform who we are.  From physical ease to chronic pain at varying levels, how we inhabit our bodies creates the background of our immediate experience.  My passion is to guide clients through the Rolfing® ten-series, which allows them to explore posture and movement with new awareness and often releases them from limiting patterns that cause pain and discomfort. 

I am a certified Rolfer® in Bozeman, MT and I’ve been practicing for 14 years.  I want to thank you for writing Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection, an accessible, informative book that opens the doors to the world of integrative medicine as treatment for these difficult conditions. 

I found the section on Rolfing® Structural Integration to be well-written and accurate, picking up on many of the subtleties that are often glossed over or misunderstood.  So, I thank you for your careful assessment.

What is Rolfing?

One of the main issues that the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration seeks to clarify in the press is that, despite the use of a physical contact that is comparable to “myofascial release”, structural integration is not a form of massage. Rolfing/Structural Integration is a separate lineage with its own history, as well as its own schools and separate continuing education.  One cannot learn massage at a “Structural Integration (SI)” school, nor properly learn SI at a massage school.  In fact, “myofascial release” and “deep tissue massage” are offshoots of Rolfing.  

The Difference between Rolfing and Massage

An important distinction between Rolfing and myofascial release is that Rolfing strategically lengthens fascia that is shortened, while avoiding lengthening fascia that is relatively long, so that the person achieves maximal balance between agonist/antagonist muscle pairs as well as creating more balance at each joint.  

Rolfing also includes postural and movement re-education for sitting, standing, walking, and so forth, so that the client can consciously integrates new postural and movement balance. I say all this as a means of explanation for why we decline to have structural integration referred to as massage.

Is Rolfing Painful?

Clients with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders need not be fearful that Rolfing is “aggressive”.  When the practitioner has a patient-focused approach, it may be used successfully because current structural integration training and practice is intentionally neither aggressive nor painful. While there was a belief that more intensity yielded more results when Rolfing was first emerging as a bodywork, that thinking has been extinguished for decades at both institutional and individual levels.   

Complements to Rolfing

Craniosacral therapy and neurofeedback can reduce anxiety and lift depression, allowing clients to experience a sense of peacefulness and integration that compliments Rolfing. I help clients inhabit their physical selves in a new and deeper way so that comfort and integration can become their new normal.  

Ann M. Matney has a B.A. in philosophy from Smith College, is a certified Rolfer® by the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration, and she is trained in craniosacral therapy and neurofeedback.  She is currently enrolled as a graduate student in a rehabilitation counseling at Montana State University.

Footnote

Annie tells me the International Association of Structural Integrators sets the standards for structural integrators. Rolfers® (which should be capitalized every time and followed by the registered trademark symbol for the first occurrence) are one group, namely those certified by the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in Boulder, CO.

In healing,,Celeste

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"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."  

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Celeste Cooper, RN

Author—Patient—Freelance Writer at Health Central & ProHealth —Advocate

Celeste’s Website: http://CelesteCooper.com