Search

Biofeedback and neurofeedback training procedures are often different for athletes than for clinical patients. Athletes come to improve performance whereas patients come to reduce symptoms. This article outlines factors that distinguish work with athletes from work with clinical patients. The differences in training include the purpose of training, the nature of the participant in training, session design, and covert factors underlying the training. Unlike clients, athletes often do intensive transfer of learning training, between 2 and 6  hours of daily sport practice across days, weeks, and months. Although biofeedback and neurofeedback are important factors for enhancing peak performance, there are many covert and overt factors producing performance success such as motivation, intensity of training, ''A-ha'' experiences, experimental expectancy, behavioral consequences, and mastery learning. The training process with athletes is illustrated through a case example of a young tennis player who mastered control of his anger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence suggests that Heart Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback (BFB) may improve sport performance by helping athletes cope with the stress of competition. This study sought to identify whether HRV BFB procedure impacted psychological, physiological, and sport performance of a collegiate golfer. This individual volunteered to participate in 10  weeks of HRV BFB training according to the protocol developed by Leher, Vaschillo, and Vaschillo (2000). During the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth weeks of the study, the golfer and lead author met at a virtual reality golf center to practice skills for breathing at resonance frequency during golf performance. Golf performance and HR were recorded during nine holes of virtual reality golf before and after 10  weeks of HRV BFB training. Self-report questionnaires were administered also before and after HRV BFB training to measure symptoms of anxiety, stress, and sensation seeking. Physiological measures, including HRV and respiration rate, were recorded in the lab during the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth weeks of the study. Reduction in symptoms of anxiety, stress, and sensation seeking and increases in total HRV, low-frequency HRV, and amplitude of oscillation at .1  Hz and improved sport performance were observed. This effect became stronger across 10  weeks of HRV BFB training. A larger-scale study was conducted and is in the process of analysis to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a larger training program, applying a new biofeedback protocol for improving reaction time (RT) performance among elite speed skaters at the Canadian Speedskating National Training Center in Montreal, Canada, provided an advantage at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, allowing athletes to assert themselves and claim the best starting position during the event. Each athlete participated in a twice-weekly biofeedback RT training for 5  weeks, for a total of 600 RT practice trials, simulating speed-skating activities such as reacting to commands of ''go to the start,'' ''ready,'' and the sound of a signal from a gun to start. There was an overall improvement in RT performance from the beginning to the end of the 5-week period, with the largest improvement occurring between Weeks 4 and 5 of the training, F(1, 9) == 679.2, p == .001. The results suggest that biofeedback protocols will become an essential part of a winning strategy for future interventions in speed skater training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback (BFB) is a relatively new approach for helping athletes to regulate competitive stress. To investigate this phenomenon further, a qualitative case study examined the impact of HRV BFB on the mood, physiology, and sport performance of a 14-year-old golfer. The golfer met once per week at a university lab for 10 consecutive sessions of HRV BFB training that included breathing at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. The format and duration of sessions followed the HRV BFB protocol outlined previously by Lehrer, Vaschillo, and Vaschillo. Acute increases in total HRV low-frequency HRV and amplitude of oscillation at 0.1 Hz were observed during biofeedback practice. This effect became stronger across sessions, suggesting increases in baroreflex gain. Following HRV BFB, the golfer achieved his personal record score for 18 holes of golf, and his mean golf score (total number of shots per 18 holes of golf) was 15 shots lower than in his previous golf season. The golfer received no golf instructions during HRV BFB training. The results of this case study suggest that HRV BFB training may help the athlete cope with the stress of competition and/or improve neuromuscular function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mission of the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) is to certify individuals who meet education and training standards in biofeedback and progressively recertify those who advance their knowledge through continuing education. In strategic recognition of the growing international interest in biofeedback research and practice, BCIA has launched a number of programs in support of worldwide biofeedback certification and global standards for training and education. This article discusses BCIA's international efforts in support of its mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA) certificants use biofeedback in a variety of applications and settings, from pain management to optimal performance training for athletes and business executives. BCIA certification provides standards for the education and training for all providers of biofeedback services. Recently, BCIA conducted a survey of their certificants. One of the most important questions asked was about the value of BCIA certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]