Medical Information
The word "biofeedback" was coined in the late 1969 to describe laboratory procedures developed in the 1940's which trained research subjects to alter brain wave activity, blood pressure, muscle tension, heart rate and other "autonomic" bodily functions not normally voluntarily controlled. Biofeedback is a training technique in which people are taught to improve their health and performance by using signals from their own bodies.

One commonly used device, for example, picks up electrical signals from the muscles and translates those signals into a detectable form such as a flashing light or a beeping sound. each time muscles become more tense. If one wants to relax tense muscles, one can focus on altering the flashing and/or beeping and thus the client learns to associate sensations from the muscle with actual levels of tension and develops a new, healthy habit of keeping muscles only as tense as is necessary for as long as necessary. After treatment, individuals are then able to repeat this response at will without being attached to biofeedback equipment.

 

Medical Tips & Questions
The word hydrotherapy refers to any method of helping a medical condition with the use of water. Here are a some of these therapies with a short description of each. This is not meant as advice on how to do it but rather is an introduction to understand your doctor's or practitioner's reasoning in applying these methods. These methods should not be self-administered unless you receive training from a professional and remain under the consultative supervision of that person. For that reason the full instructions are not presented.

Constitutional Hydrotherapy - application of first hot, then cold to the trunk, front and back for the purpose of strengthening the immune system and promoting healing.

Cold Compresses - applied as a cold cloth wrung from ice water and restored by another as it warms for the purpose of forcing blood away from an area to decrease pain as in, for example, the treatment of acute injuries.

Hot Compresses - a cold compress is left in place for a long period of time for the purpose of stimulating a rebound response from the body to increase healing (metabolic) activity in the area of application; thus if the desired response is forthcoming, the cold compress becomes a hot compress.