What is biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a form of mind-body therapy that teaches you to recognize and change the way your body functions. Your body changes in response to pain, stress and other conditions in ways you don’t realize. Biofeedback therapy helps you see what’s going on.
It uses surface electromyography (EMG) to assess your muscle function. Electrodes are placed on your skin above the muscle to be measured. From there, the EMG can pick up muscle activity, allowing you to actually see what’s happening inside your body when you contract and relax your muscles or respond to some other stimulus.
Why do I need biofeedback therapy?
Biofeedback is used by a variety of health professionals, but mainly physical therapists, primary care physicians and psychologists. It can improve your mind-body connection in a number of ways, from reducing anxiety to relieving migraines and headaches.
In physical therapy, biofeedback is used to help you better understand your muscle function so you can correct the underlying issues causing a musculoskeletal condition. You may need biofeedback therapy as part of your treatment plan if you have lower back pain, fecal or urinary incontinence, chronic pain, muscle spasms, tightness or fibromyalgia.
What happens during biofeedback therapy?
In a biofeedback session, you will be hooked up to a surface EMG. Your physical therapist will place electrodes — sensors that stick to your skin and connect back to the EMG — in the areas they’re monitoring. That may be your lower back if you’re muscle spasms or your abdomen if you have pelvic floor issues.
Once connected to the EMG, the sensors start measuring the muscle function and tension within the target area. You’ll see the readings on a screen and may even hear specific sounds to cue to different functions.
Biofeedback is all about alerting you to what’s happening with your body — voluntary or involuntary. As the feedback comes in, your PT will explain what it means and what you should be feeling. They may ask you to contract or relax a muscle, position your body differently, move in a certain way or breathe deeply. With each direction, you’ll see immediate feedback on how your muscle responds. A typical session lasts between 30 and 60 minutes.
What should I expect after receiving biofeedback?
With the help of biofeedback therapy (as part of a comprehensive physical therapy treatment plan), you’ll feel more in control of your muscles. For spasms, you’ll learn to relax the muscle. With incontinence, you’ll control your urges, manage frequency and prevent leakage. And for different types of pain, you’ll be able to control muscle function better, make small adjustments to the way you move to do so pain-free and reduce your body’s response to pain stimuli.
You won’t be done after just one session. Biofeedback therapy is like retraining your body. You’ll need multiple rounds to develop an understanding of how your muscles work, plus continued work at home to master muscle control. But with a little practice, you can better understand how your body is feeling, control your muscles and develop muscle memory — without the use of a machine.