CEOs, Golfers Can Learn From Biofeedback

Do sales meetings make you drowsy? Want to straighten out that golf slice? Does stress make relaxing a chore?

Rick Kirkpatrick, director of integrated health therapies at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Fayetteville, says he’s got something to help all three. It’s called Electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback, an alternative therapy or learning strategy that enables people to actually alter their brain waves.

The goal is to retrain the brain to process information more efficiently, making the patient’s thinking more relaxed and alert. It’s similar to scenes from the movie, “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” where Will Smith teaches Matt Damon to improve his golf game by finding “the zone.”

HealthSouth has used the treatment for three years, mostly focusing on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. But this year’s rollout of sports- and stress-related applications is the first of its kind in Northwest Arkansas.

So far HealthSouth has treated about 150 patients locally using EEG biofeedback, or neurofeedback. It spent about $10,000 on the hardware but doesn’t have complete results back yet on the recent initiative’s success. Kirkpatrick did say, however, early comments have been exciting.

Woody Bell, the former state manager for Time Warner Cable, now manages his own portfolio in Fayetteville and plays as much tennis and golf as possible. He tried EEG biofeedback at HealthSouth on a friend’s referral. Bell said it’s done wonders to reduce his stress and improve both of his games.

“I was in management for 28 years and have always dealt with stress,” Bell said. “This really teaches you the building blocks. It’s not a quick fix seminar thing but building blocks that start where the issues are and gets you inside yourself. …

“After only six sessions, my tennis game became more consistent. And since I completed 25 sessions, I’ve played the two best rounds of golf in my life.”

The procedure is painless and noninvasive, and involves attaching sensors to the scalp and ear lobes so brain waves can be monitored while they’re exercised. Patients undergoing the training watch a video game that rewards low beta waves, or relaxed and focused thoughts, with success and positive reinforcement. After a while, the brain takes over and learns to operate “in the zone” more often. Depending on the patient, Kirkpatrick said, 20 to 40 sessions can make a big difference. Most sessions last 30 minutes, and they cost $60 individually or can be packaged at 20 for $995.

Dennis Shelby, CEO of HealthSouth in Fayetteville, said the training is part of his firm’s philosophy to treat the whole patient with whatever therapies are beneficial.

“We use a variety of complementary therapies that make sense combined with traditional approaches to medicine,” Shelby said. “The point is to use whatever we have available that helps our patients.”

Alternative and complementary therapies such as massage therapy, acupuncture and even EEG biofeedback are becoming more prevalent nationally. But still only 2 percent of HMOs will pay for EEG biofeedback, according to trade journal Modern Health Care.

Shelby said the fact that many people are willing to accept the out-of-pocket expense gives it further credibility.

According to a recent study by trade journal American Specialty Care, two thirds of American households have used some form of alternative medicine or product in the past two years. During 2000, patients spent an estimated $30 billion on alternative care.