Biofeedback application & effectiveness

Biofeedback is used in the treatment of stress in order to treat it when the symptoms have already become excessive, as well as to prevent such symptoms from occurring in the first place (prevention). From EMG training, breathing training, HRV etc., all the biofeedback modalities mentioned above are actually used here.

Various feedbacks, such as a flower that opens wider and wider, can help the test subjects to relax more and more. Biofeedback is also used as (non-clinical) general relaxation training to actively integrate phases of relaxation into everyday life.

Alongside stress and burnout, pain therapy is probably the area for which biofeedback is best known. Biofeedback is ideally suited to countering the vicious circle of chronic pain.

EMG biofeedback is usually used here (e.g. for tension headaches, back pain, bruxism). Temperature biofeedback has proven to be helpful in migraine therapy.

Biofeedback is a highly successful technique used for anxiety disorders. Firstly, through general relaxation training, it helps to lower overall arousal levels, which aims to reduce the frequency of anxiety attacks. Additionally, exposure therapy is employed, where clients are exposed to anxiety-inducing stimuli such as images, videos, and other media, enabling them to learn how to cope with these triggers. 

Biofeedback can support the goals of cognitive and behavioral interventions and help improve self-efficacy or cognitive beliefs.

A study that used, among other things, HRV biofeedback came to the conclusion that biofeedback appears to be a useful adjunctive therapy for the treatment of major depression.

The success of treating high blood pressure using biofeedback (HRV and respiratory biofeedback, but also temperature or skin conductance training) can be maintained even after the end of therapy.

In most cases, medications can be reduced or even stopped completely (here again, all medication-related decisions should only be made in consultation with doctors).

Often (e.g. after a stroke) the residual activity of the muscle is so weak that the test subject can hardly or not notice it at all. Muscle building during the rehabilitation of these muscles is often slow. This combination of effort and barely visible success often leads to low client motivation. Biofeedback can help maintain motivation because even the smallest training successes are reported back and the test subject therefore notices their progress.

Biofeedback can improve, accelerate or support the rehabilitation of peripheral and central paralysis compared to conventional physical training.

The goal of treating ADHD with neurofeedback is to train the brain’s frequency bands so that the beta band (representing attention) is activated more and the theta band (representing daydreaming) is reduced.

The child practices learning this skill using EEG electrodes attached to the head and child-friendly feedback (cartoons, fairy tales). The success of neurofeedback for ADHD sometimes even exceeds that of drug treatment or is comparable to it (however, drug-related questions should always be clarified with a doctor in advance).

Just as in professional life, biofeedback and neurofeedback can also be used to optimize performance in sports.

The methods have already been used, for example, by Olympic athletes, golfers and other athletes.

HRV biofeedback in particular is considered a very successful method for treating irritable bowel syndrome. Studies reported freedom from symptoms in almost 70% of participants, with the rest experiencing at least some relief.

Respiratory biofeedback in particular is very popular in the treatment of PTSD. It can be used in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy. This procedure is easy to supplement and is considered a practical method with high effectiveness.

Treating asthma with biofeedback leads to improvement in two ways. On the one hand, the clients learn to reduce the fear of the threat of an asthma attack, and on the other hand, they also see improvements in breathing parameters (especially forced expiratory volume).

Chronic tinnitus often shows increased levels of stress and tension. Biofeedback is then used to influence these parameters, e.g. the tension in the jaw area. However, the aspect of showing clients the psycho-physiological connections to the illness is also very useful.

This form of treatment is well accepted, has no side effects and leads to a significant reduction in tinnitus distress.

To treat constipation using biofeedback, for example, anal probes and EMG biofeedback are used. Some studies have found this biofeedback-based approach to be superior to other methods.

The treatment of erectile dysfunction using biofeedback takes place in two ways. On the one hand, impaired pelvic floor muscles can be the reason for the symptoms. In this case, this area is trained using anal electrodes.

In the case of psychogenic dysfunction, relaxation training can be helpful in reducing the subject’s stress level.