Biofeedback use in work-out session and rehabilitation

Biofeedback training implementation in the sportsmen’s training process proved its efficiency. Biofeedback allows the sportsman to increase his sensations sensibility, accuracy of self-evaluation of physiological changes and dynamics, to improve muscular perception, motor memory and movements coordination. Biofeedback method is used in training of various self-regulating and relaxation skills, physical state improvement, rehabilitation after traumas.

There are specialized biofeedback procedures with use of stress models, oriented to training the skill of control of own emotions for somatic stress, so these procedures are used as antistress therapy and training of stress resistance skills.

Main trends of biofeedback training in sport:

• Traditional methods of biofeedback training by vegetative indices (EMG, respiration, temperature, blood filling, etc) are usually used to train stress resistance skills, to manage severe psychological stresses, to form and improve professional skills and qualification, which are significant in any kind of sports considering the indices, connected with sport activities in training process, and also to increase quality of rehabilitation and reactivation processes after competitive and intensive training loads.
• Modern training methodologies train sportsman’s ability to cause optimal psychophysiological state, which contributes to achievement of uppermost possible result, will to victory. Biofeedback forms psychical characteristics and skills, being able to provide achievement of sportsmanship peak with simultaneous increase of the sportsman’s psychosomatic health quality. Training is performed due to intensification of the most significant psychophysiological functions of the sportsman, using various types of EEG biofeedback training (mental training) which allows randomly entering and retaining the optimal psychophysiological state, named abroad as "TheZone" - states which are characteristic of winners.
• Acceleration and increase of technical training quality (training and learning new movement elements, correction of errors, forming optimal movement stereotypes, etc.).
• Managing ability to evoke optimal functional state before start, during trainings.
• Acceleration and increase of reactivation processes quality after competitive and training (intensive) loads.
• Special skills development (response speed, endurance, etc
• Characterological peculiarities correction, increase of motivation to maximum results achievement.

Some examples of biofeedback use in sports:

Mastering psychical and physical relaxation skills, forming abdominal-relaxation respiration type.	Relaxation procedures by temperature, EMG, EEMG, respiration (including 2-channel training and cardiorespiratory resonance reactivation), HR (HR decrease and respiratory modulation reactivation), EEG (alpha-training).
Nerve force increase, positive attitudes forming skill of emotional control. The sportsman’s mentality alteration to domination of such features as determination and activity, decrease of inertness, anxious and depressive states	Alpha-stimulating training by EEG
Train process of mastering high-coordinated, quick and exact movements	EMG biofeedback to train amplitude-time carrying out of separate muscle movement or their combination, forming muscles interaction pattern by model sample
Increase of truth of sportsman’s self-concept and physiological changes dynamics	Scenarios of control of respiration, heart rate, temperature, muscles tonus, EEG-pattern, etc.
Ability to stable posture maintaining in shooting sports	Scenarios of control of body position and its parts with use of stabiloplatform, EMG, movement and body position sensors.

The biofeedback most important feature is that it does not use physical and chemical influence on the person. During biopotential control session, an external informative feedback field is formed, within which the required physiological signals, defined with disorders character, are recorded with corresponding sensors and input into PC, their significant parameters are analyzed, and then presented to the patient in comprehensible form of an audiovisual image.

The better a physiological parameter is controlled, the less "torsional" image distortions there are. Finally you will see the medals image as a symbol of victory.

Examples of integral form of information presentation

Example of picture spread and its brightness increase during biofeedback training carrying out

Biofeedback example in visual modality: biopotential control of mosaic distortions degree and image turn angle by controlled physiological index

Effect of desired result visualization in sports is improvement of parameters of biofeedback image video (image quality) due to successful carrying out of psychical selfregulation procedure.

Image "atomism" elimination forms clear victory picture.