What Is Biofeedback?

An alternative and complementary medicinal technique, biofeedback is a method used to control certain bodily processes such as your heart rate and blood pressure. Biofeedback uses the power of your thought and muscle control to control various functions of your body. The technique is used to treat conditions such as urinary incontinence, high blood pressure and many other conditions.

Biofeedback is a technique that people use to improve their health by controlling physiological functions, such as blood pressure, skin temperature, heart rate and muscle tension. Normally, these bodily processes occur involuntarily, but with biofeedback that goal is to be able to control these functions with thought, brainwaves, pain perception and muscle tone. According to the Mayo Clinic, biofeedback is considered to be generally safe.

In biofeedback, electrodes are attached to your skin to measure your blood pressure and heart rate. A monitor displays the levels of these vital signs. With the aid of a biofeedback technician, you learn how to change your blood pressure and heart rate. Biofeedback is used to treat a number of conditions including tension headaches, migraine headaches, urinary incontinence, high blood pressure and chronic pain. Biofeedback has also been used in children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD.) Furthermore, studies have shown that biofeedback may help alleviate the symptoms of Raynaud's disease, which is a condition that results in decreased blood flow to the toes, fingers, nose and ears.

There are three common forms of biofeedback therapy. Electromyography, or EMG, measures your muscle tension. Thermal biofeedback measures your skin temperature changes, while neurofeedback, or electroencephalograpy, measures the activity of your brain waves. Biofeedback is preferred by some people because of the lack of side effects, which are often apparent with medications.