What is Biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a form of alternative medicine where a patient uses various machines to monitor certain aspects of their body's function to become more aware of their bodies, and therefore increase their ability to control their own bodies. In theory, when a person is shown a tangible measure of internal processes of which they normally cannot sense, they are able to regulate the process willfully. The applications for biofeedback are extremely diverse, and is often used to treat attention deficit disorder, urinary incontinence, headaches, and chronic pain.
Types of Biofeedback Machines
Since the applications of biofeedback vary greatly, so must the machines required to monitor the appropriate bodily functions; there is no single machine that is used for every type of biofeedback. An electromyograph, or EMG, is a commonly used machine in biofeedback which uses electrodes to measure muscle tension and is used to help patients relax to ease chronic pain and headaches. A galvanic skin response machine is a device that measures sweat gland activity by measuring electrical resistance across the skin, which is used to treat anxiety and excessive perspiration.
Another popular biofeedback device is the electroencephalogram, which measures brain wave activity, and is used to treat attention deficit disorder.
Advantages and Criticism of Biofeedback
Since biofeedback does not induce any direct chemical or physical change as a traditional treatment would, its effectiveness is a subject of debate. Critics argue that if biofeedback works at all, it amounts to a sort of placebo effect. Though the monitoring of bodily functions itself does not help a patient, it gives patients the belief that they can control their bodies, and the change in outlook enables them to control their bodily functions better. For certain problems, like ADHD and urinary incontinence, biofeedback has been found to be very effective in assisting patients, while for other problems, it is less useful. The value of biofeedback is derived from the brain's ability to control an ailment through discipline, training or relaxation. Problems which are not directly connected to the function of the brain, such as an immune disease or bodily damage, like a broken bone, are not likely to benefit from biofeedback.
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