European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Id your health r technician Barbara Farber helps leukaemia patient Cory Berger 6, practice mental relaxation techniques to relieve pain caused by spinal taps. Biofeedback is now being used with younger patients s a 1 it a Fps Kwh Sis asst  t4 i a a Quot s a Sass a a a assess i jesses a &i3f.asjaai a a Menlo relaxation to help prevent pain by Lanie Jones los Angeles times never mind the electrodes taped to the Little girl s shoulders. Or the. Two red sensors stuck to her left Index Finger and Palm. Or the band of a. Black elastic around her Waist. Instead in a basement room at children s Hospital of Orange county calif., 6-year-old Cory Barger. Stared at a video Monitor that showed her muscle tension perspiration and breathing As Bright Geometric designs. Quot keep your shoulders quiet Cory. Relax Quot technician Barbara Farber advised. And Cory let her shoulders fall. She took a breath. On the screen blocks of Pink yellow and Green turned to dazzling Blue. Quot wow Quot Cory said softly. A the solemn faced girl in the red Minnie mouse dress was practising a relaxation technique called biofeedback that she uses often to control pain. In remission from leukaemia Cory must have spinal taps every six weeks. But until she Learned biofeedback the Needle jabs were agonizing each time five nurses a or sometimes four nurses and Cory s Mother a had to hold Down the often screaming 40-Pound girl. "t3ut since she began biofeedback a year ago Cory has amp led calmly to the spinal punctures positioned herself on the table and held her body still a concentrating on relaxing Quot it makes my pokes not Hurt too much Quot she said. A a a. Introduced in the late 1960s and still controversial biofeedback is mental training that lets people gain control Over involuntary bodily functions. By wearing electronic sensors that Quot feed Back Quot data a on temperature respiration or muscle tension to a. Biofeedback video Monitor patients discover ways of  when an electrode is wrapped around a Finger for. Instance the video screen will display the patients temperature sometimes As a wavering line. But by experimenting with ways of easing tension a breathing deeply for instance or imagining a quiet walk on the Beach a a patient can gradually learn to make the temperature line Rise. And slowly he has Learned a simple method of relaxing that of warming his hands. A. A  when an electrode is placed on a patient s shoulders Bright colors on the biofeedback Monitor May indicate mat Irie patient s shout Are Muscles Are tense. But by studying the Monitor and trying to change the colors on the screen to ones that indicate relaxation a patient can learn How to ease the a tension., a i. Though the High tech procedure was designed for adults across the United states Many psychologists and paediatricians now use biofeedback with children a few As Young As 2. Not Only does it help youngsters like Cory who need frequent painful medical procedures but also doctors at children a Hospital and Many other. Paediatric hospitals say it can help treat a Long list of disorders a from anxiety migraine headaches and fiercely itching eczema to arthritis attention deficit disorder and a neurological syndrome called. Raynaud a disease. A in addition children a Hospital psychologist Frank Carden said his staff uses biofeedback to Quot re train Quot children with asthma and cystic fibrosis a improving their lung function by showing them How to breathe using the diaphragm not the Chest. A recent children a Hospital study of 26 cystic fibrosis patients Ages 10 to 41, showed that those whose breathing was  biofeedback improved lung function by 38 percent to 100 percent and would. Probably show Long term benefits including fewer Al fief inc i. ,. In Tulsa okla., psychologist William Finley has created a patented biofeedback device to Stop bed limbs. With sensors attached to immobile arms or legs patients try to move while the Monitor shows if. The muscle has received a signal from the brain. Explained or. Bernard Brucker a co director of the Miami project to cure paralysis Quot we re teaching. People to be More efficient at using cells of the. . For air the enthusiasm some doctors remain deeply sceptical about biofeedback some suggesting that it is a modern form of Snake Oil. Many More Are cautious suggesting it May work for a few psychosomatic ailments but that most of. The. Time. Simple relaxation techniques May work just As Well. 1 Quot it s of unproven scientific Validity Overall Quot said Ira Lott chairman of paediatrics at the University of California Irvine school of  in rare ,. Instances biofeedback May help a a but i would no recommend it As a prophylactic treatment in  childrens Hospital in los Angeles rarely uses it said its head of behavioural sciences psychologist. Michael Dolgin. C a a. A a Quot a lot of people feel you can get just As. Good results with other techniques like hypnosis Quot he said. Still some of Dolgins private patients especially. Youngsters with headaches learn biofeedback. The technique teaches children to dilate blood vessels and ease their pain said Dolgin who believes it can give them a sense of Mastery Over their bodies. A one of the most negative reports on biofeedback came in. 1987 when a committee of the National research Council in Washington said that there was no proof that it could relieve stress. \. That finding still appears Correct said several committee members including Gerald Davison psychology professor at the University of Southern California. He acknowledged that biofeedback research with paralysed patients appears promising but said he still doubted Many other claims made for the technique which he described As Quot impressive.  biofeedback advocates counter angrily that the National research Council study was uninformed misleading and misstated the research a. Overall the medical establishment has been Quick to find fault with the technique noted a biofeedback Pioneer Judith Green. A Quot the sad Story is we biofeedback practitioners Don t get. A lot of referrals Quot from doctors said the Greeley colo., psychologist. Quot when a child shows up at the paediatrician s with a migraine they think drugs. Or hyperactivity they think ritalin. But i think doctors Are becoming More educated More interested in mind body  a a a a. Cory s Mother Barbara Burns said she might not have believed the claims about biofeedback either a if she Hadnot seen it help her daughter. After Cory was diagnosed with leukaemia in april 1987 a if mediately enduring three or four Bone marrow aspirations that first week a Burns said that she started searching desperately for some sort of pain management for her. Little girl. Quot our vet manages pain Quot with Cory s Pony. Burns said. Before he gives the Pony a shot he loops a 10-Inch Chain around the. Animal s lip twists it tightly Quot and the Pony Falls  i thought my god if you can do that for horses they ought to be Able to find a place on a human being that would still the pain Burns said. Quot but the doctors did t have any  so for two  the situation did not change about every 12 weeks Cory would have a spinal and. Each time she would scream and have to be held Down. ,. A for a while Quot they used to sedate her. A very painful poke in the leg and sometimes a poke in the hip to numb the area Quot Burns said. Quot but these would Hurt so  and sometimes the sedation a form Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes a tuesday january 8, 1991 a quiet softly lit room was the setting for students in the Early Days of biofeedback at the Menninger foundation in Topeka kan., in the 1970s As they practice with individual electromyography machines. Of Quot Twilight sleep Quot would make Cory a wild Quot Quot Burns said that she decided to join nurses in a. Holding her flailing screaming daughter during the five minute Long puncture when she discovered after one procedure that Cory bore Fingernail scratches from being pinned Down. At 4, Cory Quot made the decision that she did no to want to take the sedatives anymore Quot. Burns said. Quot so the doctors suggested let s try and see if we could reason with her still it took quite a few people to hold her and she screamed and it was  then in february 1989, Cory finished. Chemotherapy. While Burns was glad Quot i knew what was coming up Bone marrow aspirations and the spinal every six weeks. And i said she s going to go nuts a. A a at that Point Burns said her search for pain control intensified -. A a. A a a. A a a. A a. A a. A a butt was not until october 1989 that she Learned by Accident at the Orange county children s Hospital Parent support meeting that the psychology department offered biofeedback. At the time 4v�-year-old Cory was the hospitals a youngest biofeedback student. But Burns was hopeful. Cory was eager to find a Way to Block the pain. Also the Hospital s biofeedback programs a some displaying charts and colourful shapes one depicting a Small Man climbing a Mountain As the child s tension Rose a seemed tailored toward kids Burns said. And Quot Corys pretty video literate Quot a Good at video games Jike Nintendo. Quot i thought this would be right up her  a j and it was. After just two half hour sessions with the biofeedback equipment Cory had Learned relaxation techniques said Frank Carden the Hospital s director of health psychology. Each session costs $65, and insurance companies typically pay for the treatment in november when she had her next puncture Quot she was a Little stressed Quot her Mother admitted. But instead of nurses holding her Cory rested quietly on the procedure table. Quot there was just one Little scream. And it was  Burns said. How does Cory do biofeedback meeting with a reporter at her family a rustic Home in Riverside calif., the Little girl a a typical 6-year old a made it Clear that she would prefer to discuss her Gray Pony Moki her Little Mermaid watch or her two toy ponies miss sparkle and miss Dawn rather than biofeedback. Still with her mothers prompting Cory talked a Little. Practising biofeedback she said batting Large Brown eyes Quot is just like you re trying to go to  by now Cory has biofeedback Down to a science she and her Mother said. About a week before each , Cory visits the Orange county Hospital for a half hour refresher class in front of the video Monitor. A. A. And on the Day of the Needle stick Burns stays by Corys Side holding her hand and coaching her on biofeedback techniques. A. While Cory Waits for the puncture she and Burns also discuss an elaborate fantasy that they narrate together. In this waking dream a stallion named Black Beauty gallops through the Forest carrying Young Cory to a Safe place a beyond pain. Quot i just remember when i m getting my pokes i think about Riding Black Beauty through the Woods. And its Cool in the Woods. And we go through the Trees Quot Cory said. A added Burns Quot and when the poke is going to come we think about a jump. And when it hurts a Little i say great Hal and it  both Cory and Burns say they Are delighted to have found biofeedback. Cory has even used it occasionally outside the Hospital once on the roller coaster at Castle Park in Riverside they were both scared Burns said but Cory stayed Calm working her Way through her terror by breathing deeply relaxing her shoulders practising biofeedback. Overall Burns said her Only concern about biofeedback was that Cory did not learn about this sooner y. Quot i Don t know Why this is such a Well kept  Burns  it would work for children much younger than Cory Burns said she did t know. Quot but it s Worth trying for Pete s Sakes. These Little Guys a they Don t know what a happening to them Quot and biofeedback could give them something to do give them some control Over their pain Quot Burns said. Stars and stripes bookstores stars and stripes bookstores h1h9i it cult i a  i 9 0 amp a Vizian 11 i. 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