Utilizing Biosound Healing Therapy© for injured athletes' psychological well-being

Abstract

Suffering an injury is a common occurrence among athletes of all levels, and often involves treatment from a solely physical perspective. Despite this, researchers have highlighted common psychological symptoms that also coincide athletic injuries such as depression, anxiety, decreased self-esteem, negative affect, and pain, ultimately sparking concern for athlete well-being (Clement et al., 2015; Schwab Reese et al., 2012). Limited research has been conducted to examine the effects of psychological interventions to manage these concerns, although promising results have been found for the use of imagery (Covassin et al., 2015), mindfulness and meditation (Brown & Ryan, 2003), and gratitude (Gabana et al., 2019). Much of the previous literature highlights a need for future studies to further examine potential interventions to assist with these psychological symptoms. A multimodal therapy system called Biosound Healing Therapy has been recently developed to assist in treatment for addiction and substance abuse recovery. Biosound aims to induce a theta level meditative state through a combination of binaural beats, biofeedback, vibrational tones, healing frequencies and positive affirmations/guided meditations. This technology has shown promising results in decreasing stress, racing thoughts, muscle tension, depression, fear, body aches, anger, and pain (Brown, 2018; Secor et al., 2017). Given the overlap between these symptoms and those associated with athletic injuries, the present study investigated the potential benefits of utilizing Biosound Healing Therapy throughout the rehabilitation process of injured athletes. Participants (N = 10) completed one, 60 minute Biosound session, with pre-and-post intervention data collected regarding anxiety, self-esteem, social support, pain, arousal, and mood. The researchers found significant improvements in anxiety, esteem support, pain, arousal and mood, supporting the efficacy of this treatment for future use with injured athletes.