Biofeedback refers to the use of modern devices that provide the individual with continuous and enhanced information regarding a specific physiological function controlled by the nervous system, which is not easily or fully perceived. In the terminology of servomechanisms, this information is referred to as feedback. When the feedback pertains to biological functions, it is called biofeedback.
Although the Greek word “ανάδραση” accurately describes the concept of “feedback” in mechanical systems that merely react, in the human body, where the feedback information is processed by the cognitive brain mechanisms, the term “ανατροφοδότηση” (re-feedback) is more appropriate. It better describes the notion of a response influenced by the feedback in the organism being trained.
EMG biofeedback is used by two distinct groups of clinicians: those dealing with psychophysiological and psychogenic disorders and those involved in the rehabilitation of organic conditions.
In the first category, EMG biofeedback is applied to address conditions such as tension-type headaches, temporomandibular joint syndrome, stress reduction, and training in relaxation techniques.
In the second category, in the field of neuromuscular rehabilitation, EMG biofeedback appears to result in faster and significantly greater improvements in muscle strength when combined with traditional forms of physiotherapy. It is effectively used for muscle re-education and strengthening in patients with hemiplegia, postoperative patients, individuals with chronic spinal pain, spinal cord injuries, neurogenic bladder, spastic diplegia, nerve injuries, poliomyelitis, Parkinson’s disease, writer’s cramp, tendon transfers, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and selective re-education of the vastus medialis muscle in patellar chondropathy, among others.
In clinical practice, biofeedback therapy is administered in the following stages:
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Training the patient to develop heightened awareness of a specific physiological function.
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Teaching the patient to voluntarily control this function with the help of biofeedback.
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Reinforcing the acquired control during the patient’s daily activities.
With the remarkable development of computer technology and the integration of microchips in biofeedback devices in the last decade—allowing for more accurate and faster measurements of biological functions—biofeedback is increasingly offered as a treatment of choice in a wide range of neuromuscular rehabilitation applications.
