Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a treatment technique using electronic instrumentation to obtain information about specific patterns in a person’s body. People are trained to improve their health by using this information to develop voluntary control techniques to change these patterns to reduce or eliminate symptoms. Physical therapists use biofeedback to help stroke victims regain movement in paralyzed muscles.  Psychologists use it to help tense and anxious clients learn to relax. Specialists in many different fields use biofeedback to help their patients cope with pain.  It is often prescribed to those who want alternatives to medication, no side effects, recovery from chemical dependency, or relief beyond medication.

How is Biofeedback Used Today?

Clinical biofeedback techniques that grew out of the early laboratory procedures are now
widely used to treat an ever-lengthening list of conditions. These include:

• Migraine headaches, tension headaches, and many other types of pain
• Disorders of the digestive system
• High blood pressure and its opposite, low blood pressure
• Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormalities, sometimes dangerous, in the rhythm of the heartbeat)
• Raynaud's disease (a circulatory disorder that causes uncomfortably cold hands)
• Epilepsy
• Paralysis and other movement disorders

This Material was written in part by Bette Runck, staff writer, Division of Communication and Education, National Institute of Mental Health.