Biofeedback

The Problem of Athlete Stress and Dysregulation

Both beginning and experienced athletes often fail to perform optimally because of self-induced pressure. As such, their mind and body are in a state of disequilibrium, and at critical moments, an athlete may not know how to self-regulate his or her thoughts, feelings/emotions, physiological reactions, and motor responses. Biofeedback technology is the single most efficient way to teach self-regulation. Perhaps the greatest feature of biofeedback instrumentation is that most manufacturing companies have developed software that allows for two separate operations: assessment and training. First, we can measure, assess, and profile baseline psychophysiological activity in athletes under conditions of rest, competition, and recovery. Second, the technology allows us to train athletes to self-regulate specific biological functions (e.g., excessive muscle tension) that tend to interfere with performance.

Modalities of Biofeedback

• 1.
  Electroencephalography (EEG), sometimes called neurofeedback (NF). EEG is used to measure brain activity (frequency and amplitude), and as such, we can determine if appropriate parts of the brain (e.g., those regulating coordination or spatial awareness) are active during peak performance or inappropriate parts (e.g., language production, and negative self-talk) are active. Multichannel recording can take place, so it is possible to determine what brain activity is associated with successful performance and what brain activity is associated with unsuccessful performance.
• 2.
  Surface electromyography (sEMG). sEMG refers to surface electromyography and measures muscle activity in microvolts. This form of feedback allows us to determine if muscles not involved in a particular skill need to be relaxed and those muscles involved in a skill need to fire in the right sequence and with the right amplitude. In addition to using sEMG feedback for training purposes, the information can also provide insight into the athlete's strength and conditioning or the effects of an injury rehabilitation program.
• 3.
  Heart rate (HR). HR is typically measured by standard electrocardiogram (EKG) electrodes or a photoelectric plethysmography sensor attached to a finger. HR is a measure of both exercise demands and thoughts and emotions. HR and a more recent measure, HR variability, play a large role in the psychophysiological training of athletes.
• 4.
  Respiration rate. Respiration is usually measured by a strain gauge placed in the thoracic or abdominal region (or both). Respiration rate and amplitude reflect response to the stress of exercise, psychological distress, or poorly learned breathing mechanics.
• 5.
  Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is a measure of the synchrony between heart rate and respiration. When an athlete is in a calm and alert state, the HR rises and falls with each inhalation and expiration.
• 6.
  Skin conductance. Skin conductance measurement refers to measuring the sweat response and is referred to in the literature as electrodermal response, skin conductance, or galvanic skin response. Low, stable skin conductivity is an indicator of strong autonomic nervous system function.
• 7.
  Skin temperature. Skin temperature is another measure of autonomic nervous system function [Page 163]and reflects somatic relaxation (vasodilation) or stress (vasoconstriction) in an athlete.

Assessment and Training Protocols Used in Sports

Sport scientists and sport psychologists using biofeedback assessment and training usually start by getting baseline measures of the athlete using a typical protocol of rest (2 minutes), psychological stress (2 minutes), and recovery (2 minutes). The stressor usually involves the use of a standardized test, such as the Wisconsin Card Sort Test, the Stroop Test, Serial 7s, or a sports video of performance stress. These measures create a psychophysiological profile that allows the sports scientist to design a training program that will enable the athlete to cope with pressure and maintain an optimal psychophysiological state. Should attention, cognition, and decision making show the greatest amount of dysregulation, then the focus of training might be on neurofeedback (EEG). In many cases, however, lack of self-regulation skills is demonstrated in all the modalities, and thus training will be necessary for all modalities.

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