Biofeedback

Original Editor - Professor Tim Watson Lead Editors - If you would like to be a lead editor on this page, please contact us.

Definition

Biofeedback is the technique of using equipment to reveal to human beings some of their internal physiological events, normal and abnormal, in the form of visual and auditory signals in order to teach them to manipulate these otherwise involuntary or unfelt events by manipulating the displayed signals. [1] The ultimate purpose is that the patient gets to know his own body signs and that he can control them consciously. In first place using biofeedback equipment, afterwards even without. [2]
Further, neuromuscular training or biofeedback therapy is an instrument-based learning process that is based on “operant conditioning” techniques. The governing principal is that any behavior-be it a complex maneuver such as eating or a simple task such as muscle contraction-when reinforced its likelihood of being repeated and perfected increases several fold. [8]

Different types of biofeedback

The practice of biofeedback has developed markedly over the last few years, and many different forms of feedback are currently employed in the clinical setting.
The most commonly used forms of biofeedback therapy are:
- Electromyography (EMG), measures muscle tension
- Thermal biofeedback, measures skin temperature
- Neurofeedback/ electroencephalography (EEG), measures brain wave activity
- Electrodermography (EDG), measures skin electrical activity
- Heat Flux, measures the rate at which heat is being dissipated from body
- Pneumography, measures abdominal/chest movement when breathing
- Capnometer, measures end-tidal CO2
- Hemoencephalography, measures the differences in the color of light reflected back through the scalp based on the relative amount of oxygenated and unoxygenated blood in the brain
- Photoplethysmograph (PPG), measures peripheral blood flow, heart rate,
and heart rate variability
[3,4]
The wide range of inputs means that many applications can be developed from the existing equipment. The limits to biofeedback applications are largely with the therapist. Given an understanding of the basic principles of the therapy in combination with a clinical understanding of the patients problem, there are many novel applications for the therapy. Given the limited scope of this document, the following consideration will focus exclusively on EMG Biofeedback.

EMG Biofeedback - Physiological Principles

The principles of EMG biofeedback (EMGBF) are usefully reviewed, as a reasonable understanding of what the machine is doing will assist the therapist in determining the most appropriate machine settings and applications.

Read more about the physiological principles here ...

Features of the EMG Devices

• Gain settings
• Sound
• Threshold
• Peak Hold facility

Read about these features here ...

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