Biofeedback-Assisted Self-Regulation for Stress Management in Sports
Leonard D. Zaichkowsky, Cornelius Fuchs
Abstract
Biofeedback as an area of inquiry and application is a rather recent development, first appearing in the literature in the 1960s. Subjects trained using this feedback improved in both performance and performance consistency from pre-training to post-training, whereas a verbal instruction group showed little or no change. Biofeedback training has also been used to decrease or increase levels of physical stress in healthy persons in order to improve athletic performance. Self-regulation, of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, was also demonstrated successfully in healthy non-athletes during exercise and in trained male cross country runners during a submaximal treadmill run. Electromyography (EMG) biofeedback has also been used in an effort to determine its effects on muscle soreness, which is usually felt in the untrained muscles after initial exercise exposure. The significantly greater EMG activity that was exhibited by the subjects during the feedback trials reflects an increase in motor unit recruitment and probably an increase in muscle strength.