Biofeedback: Using your mind to improve your health

The Mayo Clinic Diet Book, learn more

Free

E-newsletter

Subscribe to Housecall

Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

Sign up now

Results

By Mayo Clinic staff

Experts aren't entirely sure how biofeedback works. But if biofeedback is successful for you, it may help you control symptoms of your condition or reduce the amount of medication you take. Eventually, you can practice the biofeedback techniques you learn on your own. You may need to continue with standard treatment for your condition, though.

On the downside, learning biofeedback can take a lot of time and, if it's not covered by your health insurance, it can be personally expensive. In some cases, biofeedback may be no more effective than other simpler, less expensive relaxation techniques, such as yoga.

What you can expect
References
  1. About biofeedback. Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. http://www.aapb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3441. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
  2. Find a practitioner. Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. http://www.aapb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3442. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
  3. Insurance coverage. Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. http://www.aapb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3338. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
  4. Selecting a complementary and alternative medicine practitioner. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/decisions/practitioner.htm. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
  5. Waldman SD, et al., eds. Pain Management. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2006.
  6. Greenhalgh J, et al. The effects of biofeedback for the treatment of essential hypertension: A systematic review. Health Technology Assessment. 2009;13:1.
  7. Consumer alerts. Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. http://www.aapb.org/alerts.html. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
  8. Rakel D, et al. Integrative Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2007.
  9. Mullally WJ, et al. Efficacy of biofeedback in the treatment of migraine and tension type headaches. Pain Physician. 2009;12:1005.
  10. Overview of biofeedback. Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. http://www.bcia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3524. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
  11. Bauer BA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
  12. AskMayoExpert. Biofeedback. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2012.
  13. Herderschee R, et al. Feedback or biofeedback to augment pelvic floor muscle training for urinary incontinence in women (review.) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/view/0/index.html. Accessed Oct. 24, 2012.
  14. Palsson OS, et al. Psychological treatments in functional gastrointestinal disorders: A primer for the gastroenterologist. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. In press. Accessed Oct. 24, 2012.
MY01072 Jan. 26, 2013

© 1998-2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

  • Reprints
  • Print

  • Share on:

  • Email

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger