What Is Biofeedback?

While you could argue that the history of biofeedback dates to the mid-1800s, biofeedback and its effects were not really studied until more than a hundred years later. By the 1970s, biofeedback had garnered an impressive following, especially in psychology and psychological research. Today, biofeedback is considered a process by which subjects can gain greater awareness and even control of a wide range of physiological functions. Through the use of biofeedback machines, individuals gain important information about the activity of various systems so that they can ultimately learn to manipulate said systems voluntarily. In current practice, biofeedback is used to improve both physical and emotional health through greater understanding of physiological processes and the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours with which these processes are associated.



In the simplest terms, there are 3 components to biofeedback. First, the ultimate purpose of biofeedback is to allow individuals to learn how to change physiological activity so that they can improve health and performance. In order to learn how to manipulate physiological activity, individuals rely on precise instruments that measure things like brainwaves, heart function, breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature to provide rapid and accurate feedback information. Finally, once the individual is presented with this information, s/he can draw conclusions about changes in thinking, emotions, and behaviour that coincide with physiological changes so that over time the individual can make physiological changes without the continued need to use these instruments.

Examples of Biofeedback Machines

There are a wide range of devices used to provide biofeedback. The electromyography (EMG), feedback thermometers, the electrodermograph (EDG), the electroencephalograph (EEG), and the electrocardiograph (ECG) are just a few examples of devices that may be used to provide biofeedback.

EMG machines detect muscle activity in skeletal muscles that are responsible for initiating muscle contraction. EMG biofeedback has been found to be useful in treating anxiety, chronic pain, hypertension, headache, and low back pain.

Feedback Thermometers detect skin temperature as a reflection of arteriole diameter. As hand cooling and hand warming are processes controlled by separate mechanisms, regulation requires different skills. Feedback thermometers and temperature biofeedback are often used to treat chronic pain, stress, and edema.

EDG machines directly measure electrical activity in the skin through electrodes placed over the fingers, hand, or wrist. EDG biofeedback is also useful for anxiety as well as hyperhidrosis and stress.

EEGs measure brain activity through sensors placed on the scalp over the human cortex. EEGs record both excitatory and inhibitory responses and can therefore yield a great deal of information. EEGs are used in biofeedback treatment of addiction, learning disabilities, depression, and generalized seizures.

Finally, ECG machines require that electrodes are placed on the torso, wrists, or legs to measure heart activity; they have been used clinically as biofeedback treatments for asthma, COPD, fibromyalgia, and even heart disease.