Does biofeedback work for headaches? In my case yes, the biofeedback machines helped me a lot.

Back in the early 70’s I cracked a vertabrae in my neck and by 1976 I had long lasting and intense headaches.  The docotrs were fairly stumped as it appeared on X-rays that my injury had healed completely.

I asked about biofeedback at the time but was told it was of little use. By 1980 my headaches were so severe I went into the hospital for tests. They discovered my vertabrae was still making bone even after the crack had filled and that bone spurs were growing onto the shoulder nerves. They wanted to operate but I said no. Chances of success were only 33%.

So I tried biofeedback. It’s an amazing thing and I recommend you give it a try. I was hooked up to the standard biofeedback machine and then was taught to use my own mind to make my pain easier to deal with. Amazing machines and I’m considering a home use bio feedback monitor to help with my stress.

The tech took a baseline reading and then told me a few things to remember and to use in my daily life. Did you know that one of the things you can do to tell your stress or tension level is monitor how you are holding your tongue in your mouth?

If you are pushing it hard against your teeth or the roof of your mouth, stop that. The biofeedback machine taught me that when you do this you are very tense and stressed. Let your tongue completely relax and lay in your mouth like it’s supposed to. Everytime you catch yourself pushing your tongue hard against your teeth or roof of your mouth, just make your tongue relax.

After you monitor yourself for a while you will know when it’s happening and be able to correct it. When you correct it you won’t be as tense as you were and your stress will be lessened. That’s one of the things biofeedback taught me that works.

Another is the little muscle just over your nose and between your eye brows right at the ridge bone between the two. If you consciously relax that muscle the rest of your body will relax. Lol, yes, check your tongue at the same time and make it relax too.

I easily learned to relax using the biofeedback machine and then I was taught how your body creates stress that you don’t even know about. I was good enough to keep myself relaxed and the machine quiet.

Then the instructor told me to think about an old girlfriend. Whoa, without really feeling any different my readings went way up high. I was very stressed and very tense. Yep, toungue was hard against the roof of my mouth.

It took me a few minutes to get myself calmed down and the bio feedback machine to stop sounding like a machine gun. THe tech explained to me that even tho I didn’t feel stressed or tense my brain had just dumped a bunch of chemicals into my system. Some to speed up my heart and breathing, some to narrow my blood vessels and more.

My brain did that in response to one little thought. I hadn’t seen the woman or heard from her for a few years so you’d think I was beyond her being able to affect me. Evidently not.  I’ve learned to keep myself calmer and what to do when I get stressed or tense.

The great part is it all happens in the brain so it’s your choice as to how you want to feel. You can choose relaxed or you can choose stressed. Using biofeedback my headaches got a lot better and my stress was down a lot. I felt better.

Biofeedback is just one way to train your minjd to do what you need it to do so you can feel your best at all times. I’d recommend you find someone with a machine or that you go buy one. You can find biofeedback machines and dvd’s on the net.

Your mind can make you feel bad and it can also make you feel good. Biofeedback from a machine just makes it easier for you to learn to control pain from headaches, arthiritis and many other things. It can teach you to lower your stress level and feel much better. Try it.