Biofeedback Volume 48: Issue 2

The goal of these special issues on Empirically Supported Protocols in Biofeedback Practice is to inform readers about the replication crisis in science and respond to this crisis by providing cutting-edge standardized protocols that can be used to conduct quality research projects. As discussed in the first Special Issue on this topic (Biofeedback, 48[1]), we can use these standardized protocols to directly address the replication crisis by leveraging the membership of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback to create studies that utilize standardized protocols, sound research designs, larger sample sizes, and appropriate statistical techniques. Taking advantage of

In a review of the topic, Pollock, Baer, Pomeroy, and Langhorne (2009) concluded that surface electromyography (SEMG) biofeedback does not appear to have any positive benefit for recovery for loss of motor function. One would expect that a modality that can provide a window onto muscle functioning would be widely used as a means to restore motor function after injury. However, in 2019 little had changed regarding the use of SEMG. It is not commonly found in the armamentarium of treatment options in the typical physical/occupational therapy clinic. The reasons for this are multifaceted, but can be summarized as lack of knowledge or application of the conditions required for success. This article will attempt to encourage the reader to engage in further study for one very important reason—it enables successful treatment.

Purchasing biofeedback instruments and learning the technical process of operating each biofeedback instrument with a human subject are not enough. These steps are necessary, but they do not clearly guide one as to how the instruments should be used. A treatment protocol is required that provides an explanation of the patient's current suffering or problem, as well as a rationale for using biofeedback training in a fashion that can reasonably be expected to relieve that suffering. Such models or protocols are necessary to organize the process of the biofeedback training and provide a reasonable explanation to motivate the trainee/client. Experience shows that clients who understand how the intervention is relevant for their complaint apply themselves more fully and follow through with any homework more reliably. There are a number of such protocols, including biofeedback-assisted relaxation training, the breath training and respiratory biofeedback model, resonance frequency heart rate variability training, the neuromuscular rehabilitation model, various neurofeedback training models, and psychophysiological psychotherapy. This article will introduce biofeedback-assisted relaxation training (BART). BART is a widely applied biofeedback protocol in clinical practice and has been documented as effective in clinical studies from 1969 to the present, for anxiety disorders, diabetes, headaches, and a variety of other common medical and psychological conditions.

Surface electromyography (SEMG) dynamic protocols were developed to facilitate the assessment of SEMG resting and activity amplitude potentials and to guide muscular reeducation and rehabilitation. The author created a database that identifies the average and standard deviation of muscular amplitude potentials during rest and activity through the pertinent joint ranges of motion (ROM). This enables researchers, clinicians, and ergonomists to obtain numerical results within the range of the values in the database and obtain more effective and efficient values of muscular energy consumption. The database is also paramount to the normalization of dysfunctional muscular activity patterns during activity and rest.

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: Establishing a University-Based Biofeedback Clinic for Practice, Education, and Research

Linda P. BolinPhD, MSN, RN, ANP, BCB, FAHA,

Amelia D. SaulPhD, CTRS, BCB, and

Carmen V. RussonielloPhD, LCMHC

Special Issue: Empirically Supported Protocols in Biofeedback Practice II

QSEMG: Quantitative Surface Electromyography: Origins and Applications in Physical Rehabilitation

Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation Training: A Clinically Effective Treatment Protocol

SEMG Biofeedback Reeducation and Rehabilitation: The Sella Protocol

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: Establishing a University-Based Biofeedback Clinic for Practice, Education, and Research

REPORT: Report from FABBS Meeting

SPECIAL ISSUE: The Impact of a Romantic Partner on Patient Experience of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback

SPECIAL ISSUE: Pain—There Is Hope

ABSTRACTS: Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 54th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback