BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : OCTOBER 16, 2000 ISSUE
BUSINESSWEEK LIFESTYLE How It Works Biofeedback helps teach patients to regulate, consciously, such bodily functions as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and even brain wave patterns. Here's what happens: -- A therapist attaches sensors to the patient's body to monitor physiological responses--an electrode on the chest, for instance, measures heart rate -- The readings are displayed, usually on a computer screen, for the patient to see -- The therapist teaches the patient techniques--such as deep breathing, simple exercises, or visualization--to help alter the readings -- The readings on the screen give the patient feedback about how well the techniques are succeeding -- Patients must spend hours practicing the techniques on their own -- Eventually, they're able to alter their physiological responses without the machine _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _					RELATED ITEMS Patient, Heal Thyself TABLE: Biofeedback Online TABLE: How It Works INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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