Biofeedback
Key points
- Biofeedback is a form of therapy that teaches you to control physiological functions such as heart rate, muscle tension, breathing, perspiration, skin temperature, blood pressure and even brain waves.
- If your doctor has referred you to a biofeedback therapist, but biofeedback sessions are not helping to relieve your symptoms, call your doctor to discuss the situation.
- By learning to control these functions, you may be able to improve your medical condition, to relieve chronic pain, to reduce stress, or to improve your physical or mental performance (sometimes called "peak performance" training).
- During biofeedback training, sensors detect changes in your pulse, skin temperature, muscle tone, brain-wave pattern or some other physiological function.
What Is It?
Biofeedback is a form of therapy that teaches you to control physiological functions such as heart rate, muscle tension, breathing, perspiration, skin temperature, blood pressure and even brain waves. By learning to control these functions, you may be able to improve your medical condition, to relieve chronic pain, to reduce stress, or to improve your physical or mental performance (sometimes called "peak performance" training).
During biofeedback training, sensors detect changes in your pulse, skin temperature, muscle tone, brain-wave pattern or some other physiological function. These changes trigger a specific signal — a sound, a flashing light, a change in pattern on a video screen — which tells you that the physiological change has occurred. Gradually, with the help of your biofeedback therapist, you will learn to alter the signal yourself by taking conscious control of your body's physiology.
What It's Used For
Biofeedback has been used to treat the following health problems:
- Headaches, especially tension headaches and migraine
- Chronic pain
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders
- Digestive disorders, including constipation
- Incontinence — both urinary and fecal
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Abnormal heart rhythms (cardiac arrhythmias)
- Addiction, including alcohol addiction
- Raynaud's disease (a circulatory problem that causes cold hands and bluish fingertips)
- Epilepsy
- Paralysis and certain movement disorders
- Spinal-cord injury
- Sleep disorders
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Bedwetting (enuresis)
- Attention deficit disorder (ADD)/attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Panic disorder
- Anxiety disorder
Each year, new illnesses are added to the list of health problems that may respond to biofeedback therapy. In the United States, biofeedback is becoming increasingly popular as a form of complementary therapy, especially among people looking for a treatment alternative to prescription drugs.
Preparation
Biofeedback usually requires no special physical preparation, but some intellectual and psychological preparation is helpful. This preparation can involve:
- Reading about biofeedback, so that you have a general concept of the treatment process before you start therapy
- Making sure that you are approaching biofeedback as a legitimate form of therapy, not as a trendy fad
Written and revised by
Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.