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Gil Winkelman ND

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You are here: Home / Archives for Treat Concussion

The Secret Way to Boost Your Brain Using Neurofeedback Therapy

February 19, 2016 by Dr. Gil Winkelman 2 Comments

In other articles, I’ve talked extensively about neurofeedback therapy including LENS. But I wanted to describe LENS in more detail in this article as I have been getting more questions about this type of treatment. LENS is short for Low Energy Neurofeedback System. But how does LENS work and what does it treat? LENS neurofeedback is excellent for mind-body healing. It helps both physical issues such as migraines, autism, and post-concussion symptoms. But it can also help issues in the mind such as emotional trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

LENS neurofeedback is a simple procedure that helps heal the brain. Using the patient’s brain wave pattern, the system nudges the brain. This helps it transform maladaptive patterns. Parts of the brain that aren’t functioning optimally start working more efficiently. Over-functioning areas return to a more normal level. As the brain balances, the patient feels better. It’s safe, simple, and effective as appointments are generally short, but the benefits last for a long time.

How LENS Neurofeedback Works

The procedure of neurofeedback therapy is simple. I attached wires to your ears and head. The wires have a clip at the end and are technically called “leads”. With LENS, there are one on each ear and one or two attached to the scalp. I generally start with a mapping process.  This is a mild form of treatment allowing your brain to acclimate to the neurofeedback stimulation. But it also allows me to get a sense about how your brain is working.

Depending upon the protocol, you may close your eyes for a few seconds or a few minutes. This is repeated depending upon the type of session (mapping or not) and what the treatment goals are. In general, sessions are less than 30 minutes.  I spend a lot of the session assessing the person before and after giving neurofeedback. I want to see subtle changes that may have happened during the session, but also during the previous week. For most patients, one visit a week is enough to see benefits grow over time.

Typically, it takes 2-5 sessions to complete a map depending on the person. Some patients are more sensitive or reactive and benefit from fewer points over time. But those patients typically notice the changes right away and seeing improvement in many areas. With LENS neurofeedback, sometimes less is more. Fewer points result in bigger changes.

With a completed map, I start to analyze it. I won’t go into all the details of the maps here, but we can explore some of the concepts related to maps and neurofeedback therapy.

Types of Brain Waves Measured

Brain waves have two basic measurements, amplitude, and frequency. Amplitude represents the height of the waves. Frequency is the speed of the wave and how we define the type of wave. In general, there are four types of brain waves that are measured with neurofeedback. The chart below is a short summary of that information. (You can click on it to enlarge.)

brainwave_patterns.

The frequency determines the type of brainwave. Each wave frequency will also have a height. A person can have delta waves, for example, with tall or short amplitudes. The different types of waves and amplitudes give us a picture of what is happening in a patient’s brain. As you can see from the table, different types of brain waves have different meanings. Treatment protocols change depending on what symptoms the person is having.

How does LENS Neurofeedback work? No one knows for sure. But we do know it works for many conditions. Several studies on the instrumentation have shown that very little energy goes to the brain. It produces 10 to the minus 22 watts/cm2. That’s not much energy. When it was first tested, scientists assumed it must be a placebo effect because it is so low. But double-blind placebo-controlled studies have shown changes that could be seen on fMRI. A functional MRI can measure changes in the brain in real-time. Patients who received real LENS treatment showed changes while those who received the control didn’t. So what is going on? There are several theories including affecting the vagus nerve, changing blood profusion, or brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is a term coined by Marion Diamond, Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. She published a paper in 1970 suggesting that our brains adapt when we are exposed to different situations and stimuli. This allows for the brain to develop continuously if stimulated.

(As a side note, Dr. Diamond was a professor of mine when I went to Cal as an undergrad. She would write on the chalkboard with both hands and she could play tennis with both too. (Not in class though.) She told us she did this to work both sides of her brain.)

Dr. Len Ochs, the inventor of LENS, said that the signal from LENS may be stimulating the brain to develop new neural connections. This results in changes in the brain. This makes sense given Dr. Diamond’s theory. But the reasons that neurofeedback works may be less important. It works for a variety of conditions and people get better with almost no known long term side effects.

What LENS Neurofeedback Can Treat

LENS neurofeedback can treat almost any condition related to the brain. I have successfully treated people with Multiple Sclerosis, anxiety, depression, autism, insomnia, OCD, migraines or other headaches, RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder), ADD, epilepsy (seizures), and Parkinson’s. The results have been great for all, although other Naturopathic treatments were necessary in some cases. Concussions, post-concussion syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) respond very well to LENS neurofeedback therapy.  In terms of head injury, it was believed neurons died as a result of an injury. Now we know they don’t die. They involute. Connections get lost and the brain’s efficiency decreases. But LENS neurofeedback therapy appears to “wake” those neurons up, improving symptoms. It may be a clue as to how this form of neurofeedback therapy works.  And it may be why LENS neurofeedback is so helpful with other conditions. For example, some of my patients find their anxiety or insomnia improving though I am treating headaches.

In the case of PTSD, many patient’s reactions to stressful events decrease. The LENS neurofeedback therapy appears to help them be more aware of their reactions in these situations. This allows them to function better in relationships, their jobs, and in society.

There are many types of neurofeedback therapy, but I mostly use LENS neurofeedback therapy. It is simple, easy, effective, and has few if any, side effects. When they do occur, the side effects such as fatigue, are short lasting. The benefits, though, are not. Patients improve and often don’t need other treatments. I have seen life-changing improvements in as few as ten sessions. I find that the majority of my patients improve from neurofeedback therapy regardless of their condition. I offer LENS neurofeedback in Honolulu, Hawaii, the North Shore of Oahu, and Portland, Oregon. You can email me or call my office to learn more or to schedule a session. I look forward to meeting you in person.

Filed Under: Neurofeedback Tagged With: Lens Neurofeedback, Neurofeedback, TBI, Treat Concussion, Treat Depression Naturally

How to Treat a Concussion. The 3 easy ways you need to know

February 10, 2016 by Dr. Gil Winkelman 6 Comments

Tammy, not her real name, came to me 10 months after a car accident. She was having trouble with school. She couldn’t focus for longer than 15 minutes at a time. That’s difficult when you are attending a top-ranked liberal arts university. Her medical doctors had told her rest would make everything better.  There were medications that could help. She refused, not wanting to take pharmaceuticals. Her mother had found me online and made an appointment for her daughter to see me for concussion treatment. Six weeks later she was back to her regular self. School was going well, sleep had improved, anxiety disappeared, her headaches abated. Recover from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is possible without pharmaceuticals. How do you treat concussion? How do you see so much change without drugs? To understand this, it is important to explore more about TBI. What is it? What symptoms arise from it? By answering these questions we begin to get a better idea of how to treat.

Six years ago, I wrote an article about concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The statistics were sobering; they still are. TBI affects millions of people every year. TBI can affects not just the brain. It can create physical, behavior, emotional, and mental problems. Many people don’t even realize that their health problems may have started with a TBI. There are many ways people get injured.  The CDC estimates that there are around 3.5 million ER visits yearly due to TBI. Falls, sports-related injuries, motor vehicle accidents, and being struck in the head by an object are some of the leading causes of TBI. Some researchers believe the number may be much higher than that. There may be as much as 4 times that many TBIs than the CDC count.

What these numbers don’t tell are that many people live with the consequences of a TBI long after the event. Between 3-5 million Americans live with an impairment related to a TBI. TBI can create long term problems. Cognitive issues, including focus, concentration and memory are associated with concussion.  But most of the people who come to see me don’t even recognize that there was injury such as Jessica. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, migraines, and fatigue may all start with a TBI. Most people come to me because of one of those problems, not because of a concussion.

TBIThere are other health risks associated with TBI.  Not long ago, the idea of TBI or concussion was such that it had to be severe to have any long term consequences.  We are learning that even a mild concussion can create long-term severe consequences.  Head trauma, even from minor incidents, can cause a wide range of  mental, emotional, and/or physical ailments. Dementia risk appears to be greater as well. Living with the effects of a TBI can be devastating. Shocking stories abound of how former professional football players and veterans take their own or others lives. Millions of others live with the long-term effects without any of the fanfare. They just have the struggle. I (and others) have helped people recover from TBI. And that recovery is safe, effective, inexpensive, and non-invasive.

How do you treat a concussion?

I am working on a more detailed article to describe treatment of these problems. For now let me give a brief overview. Treatment comes in two different modalities, supplementation and biofeedback. Supplementation can handle some of the symptoms and may reverse the damage. Vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, Vitamin B6, and Omega-3s are all helpful for post-concussion syndrome. Long-term supplementation may be able to reverse the damage of the TBI. I use supplementation with most of my patients with TBI. I may also use specific supplements to treat specific problems related to the TBI, including sleep issues or anxiety. This allows for symptom relief while unwinding the damage related to the injury.

Biofeedback though provides a more direct approach to helping TBI and treatment concussion. Neurofeedback measures the brain waves of a person and allows the brain to, in effect, see itself to recognize that there was an injury. A brain injury can result in the brain not recognizing that it has an injury. This is why I often see patients who don’t remember they had an injury but have many of the problems associated with a TBI.

Neurofeedback appears to turn back on the brain’s own repair mechanisms. Studies show that neurofeedback  is effective treating TBI. And it can also be helpful for anxiety, depression, migraines, insomnia, ADHD, and other conditions.

Neurofeedback is only one treatment for TBI. New research is showing that Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training  can treat TBI. HRV training is a form of biofeedback. HRV is the measurement in subtle changes in heart rate between beats. Our heart beats at a different rates from moment to moment when we are resting. HRV is an excellent health assessment tool. Some researchers suggest that HRV may be the single biggest predictor of health in a person. Our HRV tends to decrease as we get older with a large drop as one nears death.

Furthermore, HRV may be a way to calculate the progress of treatment of the TBI. HRV seems to change after a TBI. HeartMath helps reduce emotional symptoms related to TBI.   HeartMath is a tool for concussions and for helping with many other conditions. HeartMath offers a home version of the device that allows patients to use on their own. I can review the data and assess their progress.

I’m excited to have another tool for treatment and assessment in my practice. If you or someone you know has had even a mild knock to the head, have them evaluated.  Even if you don’t remember having a concussion but have some of the symptoms, get checked. A qualified healthcare professional can help. Neurofeedback and supplementation may be able to help the problem that you are having.

Feel free to call my office for more information.

Filed Under: Conditions, Treatments Tagged With: Biofeedback, Concussion, Concussion Treatment, Heart Rate Variability, Lens Neurofeedback, Neurofeedback, TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, Treat Concussion

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