Definition
Biofeedback is a technique that measures bodily functions, like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and muscle tension. By watching these measurements, you can learn how to alter these functions by relaxing or holding pleasant images in your mind.
Your heart rate, blood pressure, or some other function is measured using electrodes. The results are displayed on a monitor that both you and the trained practitioner can see. While the practitioner describes stressful situations and guides you through relaxation techniques, you can see how your heart rate and blood pressure change in response to being stressed or relaxed.
This teaches you how to control and change these bodily functions. By doing so, you feel more relaxed and may be able to help treat your own high blood pressure, tension and migraine headaches, chronic pain, or urinary incontinence (a few examples of conditions for which biofeedback is particularly helpful).
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Reviewed By: Angelique Green, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF School of Medicine, Director of Urgent Care Center, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
