Heart Rate Variability (HRV) training using HeartMath devices continues across our markets. By learning how to bring your body to a state of neurological coherence, you can interrupt the stress response, and actually bring order to the nervous system. The biofeedback devices that the therapy teams are using give real-time feedback on achieving and sustaining coherence. The training has a cumulative effect on the nervous system, and can essentially “reset” our stress responses.
Our heart-brain interactions have a profound impact on overall health and vitality. With each beat, the heart transmits information to the brain and the entire body. Learning how to tap into the power of the heart can not only change our stress levels, but can impact our overall health. Our teams are using the personal devices to improve resilience, and they are also using the devices with patients to improve function, reduce pain, and increase the ability to tolerate treatment sessions. The most recent team to be trained was our HCR Plano team in Plano, Texas. Here is just one of their success stories:
Mrs. Y is a patient at HCR Plano with a recent diagnosis of can
cer. One of her goals is to get stronger to be able to tolerate a chemotherapy treatment regimen. The team’s new COTA, Jay, decided to try HRV training to reduce pain and increase function. During the first session, the patient was able to briefly get into what is called neurological coherence, as indicated on the biofeedback device as the green zone. However, the pain quickly brought her out of coherence. Jay decided to try another technique. He asked her about one of her favorite places to be, and she told him it was Hawaii. Jay pulled up some Hawaiian music and talked her through the coherence steps, and she was very soon able to sustain coherence. What is really amazing is that she had been refusing physical therapy treatments due to pain, but after her session with Jay, she was able to participate in a full PT treatment, with a smile on her face. The biofeedback readings below show the spike in coherence when her favorite music and memories were introduced.