sport and health

The application of biofeedback in sports psychophysiology and training

-Second part-

Objectives of psychology applied to sport

One of the tasks most commonly entrusted to the sports psychologist is to help the athlete develop strategies to obtain voluntary control over specific biological functions. In the history of applied psychology in allosport, therefore, multiple strategies have been suggested for the regulation of activation (Williams, 1993) and the BFB is one of the most effective in facilitating the learning of activation self-regulation . From a first evaluation, the interventions with the BFB seem in fact to be better indicated precisely for the "therapeutic targets" constituted by high-level athletes who, during their daily training, are accustomed to continuously assessing their physical performance and, for this reason, pay attention to immediate feedback . In this regard, the BFB can therefore be successfully applied to the systematic learning of the psychoregulation process, since it is essentially built on what athletes already do in the habit. For this reason, the applications of BFB to sport have been extensively examined by researchers, who recognized the great potential offered by psychophysiology for understanding and improving athletic performance. (see Sandweiss and Wolf, 1985; Zaichkowsky and Fuchs, 1988, 1989). Most of these researchers have investigated the positive effects of BFB in reducing performance anxiety, although others have also examined the use of BFB for increased muscle strength, to reduce pain and fatigue, to increase flexibility and to regulate the rhythmic heart.

Data, effects and procedures

In the field of sport, some BFB modalities have been used such as electromyograph (EMG), skin temperature (TEMP), skin responding (GSR), heart rate (HR) and electroencephalogram (EEG). Among these, BFB training with EMG, GSR and HR was used mostly to improve athletes' performance in various sports through psycho-regulation (Landers 1988; Petruzzello, Landers, and Salazar, 1991). Recently, researchers' interest in BFB applied to sport has been directed towards identifying the psychological conditions associated with better performance, especially in "closed skill" sports (Collins, 1995); however, changes in the physiological dimensions of the activation states of athletes who use BFB still arouse great interest in sports coaches, athletes and psychologists (Zaichkowsky and Takenaka, 1993). Using the BFB (Atlas m-8600) Blumenstein, Bar-Eli and Tenenbaum (1995) studied the effects of autogenic training, imagery and musical training on physiological indices and athletic performance . Basically, the three procedures of psychoregulation, relaxation (lowering the activation) and activation (giving energy or "psyching-up", see Zaichkowsky and Takenaka, 1993), were administered, in combination with the BFB, in an experimental design with 39 college students, to examine their effects on both physiological variables and athletic performance. The physiological indices were HR, EMG and GSR and the breath rate (fb), while the performance was evaluated based on an athletic task (sprint -100 meters). The result of this study indicated that the BFB has a significant "increased effect" both on the physiological components and on the athletic performance especially when it is accompanied by TA and Imagery. It has been noted that soft music, compared to other relaxation techniques, is rather lacking in beneficial effects. The greatest relaxation effect was achieved by TA and the strongest effect of activation by Imagery, both associated with BFB. From a practical point of view, these results indicate that, when a mental training program is to be suggested to athletes, the sports psychologist should use a combination of these techniques (TA with EMG or GSR - BFB with or without Imagery, music, etc.), which results in maximizing the positive results of each program. To respond to the pressure of the race, sports psychologists have often applied transactional models of stress (Rotella and Lerner, 1993). In each model, athletes' perceptions of physiological or emotional reactions vary depending on the situation and the potential stress induced by the competition environment. For example, Meichenbaum (1985) stress training defines a wide range of treatments that considers both cognitive and physiological coping skills. Meinchenbaum provides various ways of administering stress which, first of all, concern a combination of coping skills that the individual can master and use if he needs to face stressful situations. Secondly, they allow subjects to be taught to find adaptive information to deal with stressors on their own. Specific self-affirmation sessions are developed, to prepare for the stressor, confront and become familiar with it, facing the feeling of being overwhelmed and reinforcing the self-affirmations capable of facilitating effective coping .

Preparation for the competition

Stress training and similar transactional procedures would seem to be particularly applicable to athletes: self-instruction training may include skills and strategies aimed at self-assertion, as well as instructions aimed at concentration and attention processes. In accordance with these conclusions and with their research, Blumenstein, Tenenbaum, Bar-Eli, and Pie (1995), defined the principles of a two-stage procedure to prepare athletes for competition. The procedure is based on the use of computerized BFB and video recording equipment (VCR), combined with relaxation and / or activation techniques in order to simulate the sensations of race situations. During the first stage, the athlete is introduced to the BFB device and learns how to consciously control his psychophysiological responses. In the second stage he learns to voluntarily change his activation levels and to maintain this status as much as he wishes. This self-regulation of activation is used to increase the mental images of the race, exercised before or after the competition.

Application phases

The mental preparation program essentially translates into guiding the athlete through the gradually increasing complexity situations that characterize 5 successive phases . In the sessions that follow one another in the breaks between competitions and training, the same athlete must start over again with a shortened version of phases 1 and 2, to refresh his knowledge and update them to the changed situation, to proceed more or less quickly to phases 3 -5. The 5-step approach (Table 2 and 3) is articulated in sessions whose time limits are flexible and are established individually and includes: 1. Introduction - learning self-regulation techniques (TA, Imagery, BFB Training), in 15 sessions in a laboratory setting. 2. Identification - habit of the BFB modalities, identification of the athletes who have shown to respond more sensitively to the BFB modalities during the 15 sessions. 3. Simulation - training in a laboratory setting with simulated competition stress (VCR simulation), in 15 sessions. 4. Transformation - application of mental training to practice (from laboratory to field), in 15 field sessions. 5. Implementation - implementation of the techniques within a real competition, to achieve optimal self-regulation in the race on average in 10 sessions.

Effects of interventions

An analysis of the sports psychology literature revealed how a great variety of approaches to mental training that also used the biofeedback technique were used with athletes. The applications of the BFB have been discussed in multiple studies. In particular, BFBelettromomiografico (EMG) has been commonly used to reduce anxiety states and consequently to improve performance. Recently, the effects of autogenic training (relaxation), mentalimagery (excitation) and music training have been studied separately together with the BFB . The study revealed that the mental techniques associated with BFB led to a significant increase in the physiological indices associated with the athlete's emotional state. For example, HR, EMG, GSR and Fb (respiratory rate) increased during autogenic training, while listening to soft music or when combining both. Blumenstein and others have used EMG and BFB to hone the athlete's emotional state. This method has been applied both in the laboratory and in training conditions and has proven to be very useful in directing the athlete towards his own person-specific mental state (Table 4). It was also found that the combination of relaxation with training in the imagery makes the athlete able to reproduce an adaptive behavior, based on previous stressful situations (events), and to choose appropriate reactions. The interpretations of video recordings and the analysis of technical and tactical actions, associated with psychophysiological indexes, allow to improve the physical (motor) performance in response to the various behaviors of the adversaries both in combat sports and in other disciplines.

Sports psychology research has shown that structured interventions to develop the athlete's ability to deal effectively with stressful situations usually translate into improved performance. Some of the research conducted on the use of biofeedback have examined three cognitively oriented procedures: TA, IT and M. The positive effects of the first two procedures on athletic performance have been repeatedly demonstrated by literature, in particular for the image (Howe, 1991). It should be noted that the image has also been used in combination with other techniques. For example, on the reinforcement of video-motor behavior (VMBR), imagery and relaxation have been used together, to reduce anxiety and improve performance. Similarly, imagery and relaxation combinations were used to improve performance in the practice of Karate. Krenz (1984) conducted a series of case studies, examining the use of CT for relaxation, with tennis players and gymnasts with and without experience. From the reports of the athletes and the trainers, he concluded that in various cases this training improves the ability to manage anxiety and concentration. Many TA variants have been used to improve the performance even of high level athletes in real competitions. Usually, the BFB is considered an important tool for stress management and control, but difficulties have been encountered in demonstrating a direct relationship between BFB and performance. Some studies indicate that the use of BFB produces in athletes the decrease in stress levels and self-determined stress and that these variables are not necessarily correlated.

Mechanism of action of the BFB

It would seem that the awareness of the BFB data, through excitatory visual stimulation, changes the rhythm of the pulses in the Autonomous System, the transpiration of the skin (as detected by the GSR), the respiratory rhythm and eventually the muscle tone, as emerges from the measurements EMG. Information about the biological state of the individual provided by the BFB reinforces his somatic responses, due to cognitive-oriented mechanisms. In this way the subject can receive feedback related to the results of both his actions and his performances. Some feedbacks seem to have greater effects on motor performance, acting as a reinforcement that only contributes to the facilitation of the learning process, through the rapid identification of training and its effectiveness or influence. The BFB has also been used, generally in conjunction with other stress management procedures, to help people improve their psychological health and change the behaviors associated with it, in other areas besides sports and training.

The effectiveness of the BFB

In the long term, the effective use of BFB and stress management requires the individual to make a substantial change in the subjective evaluation of the appropriate behavior to improve their ability to cope with stress. Changes in physiological states should therefore be accompanied by changes appropriate to the mental-emotional state, in line with the basic psychophysiological foundations underlying the use of the BFB. However, to discover these psychological changes we need relatively long training periods and very sensitive and / or specific measurements. In fact, the specificity of the task of psychological treatment, especially with BFB, can contribute to improving the performance of the task itself and is therefore essential to exert a positive influence on the individual's ability to deal effectively with stress. The treatment must therefore be focused on the specific task to be performed. This principle is in line with the Theory of Action, according to which an effective self-regulation process requires that the individual subjectively defines and actively addresses the situations that arise, always keeping in mind the specific characteristics of the task to be performed . Similar ideas have emerged in the BFB literature, particularly within a framework of cybernetics models that describe the neurological and psychological principles that govern the use of the BFB and its association with other stress management procedures used to improve performance.