Biofeedback for pain patients: Benefits, short-term successes and sustainability in therapy

In this interview Dr Klaus-Jörg Münzer how he Biofeedback in the Pain therapy discusses the short-term successes in patients with chronic pain and provides insights into the lasting effects of this method:

Question: What benefits do you think biofeedback has for pain patients?

Answer: I consider biofeedback to be very useful as part of a multimodal therapy concept for chronic pain patients. Biofeedback initially provides us with a diagnostic option to demonstrate the patient's current state. If they then realise that they can perceive and change certain parameters themselves, we are already one step further and can approach the patients better. You show them directly what they have achieved themselves without external influence and can draw initial conclusions for the therapy.

Question: What short-term successes have you noticed?

Answer: The first success comes when the patients see what is happening. They notice this confrontation with their own condition immediately. With Tension headache and Migraine, Especially in the case of chronic migraines with more than 15 days of headaches per month, regular breathing training can mean that patients may only have headaches for 3-4 days per month. This is a great success for them. Another example concerns patients with anxiety who always have their acute medication with them. They then report: „Doctor, I had the medication with me, but I didn't need it. I just breathed differently, just like you showed me.“ This gives patients a feeling of independence that is priceless to them.

Question: How sustainable are these successes?

Answer: Sustainability depends on how patients continue with the concept. The best way to achieve sustainability is through activity. This means not only training the parasympathetic nervous system, for example by Breathing exercises, but also to activate the sympathetic nervous system, for example through moderate aerobic endurance training such as brisk walking or jogging for half an hour three times a week. My aim is to teach patients that they should be able to run after a bus and then sit in it in a relaxed manner.

Question: How many sessions are necessary to achieve these results?

Answer: That varies greatly. There are patients who only need one session. They understand immediately and say: „All right.“ Others come 4-5-6 times, and some simply never get it.