We are part of the West Penn Allegheny Health System

Biofeedback

Our bodies respond in a familiar and automatic way to all stressors, whether pleasant or unpleasant. With excitement, alarm, or pain, our heart rate and blood pressure increase, our muscles become tighter, our respiration more quick and shallow, and our hands and feet become colder. When this physiological response is not balanced by periods of relaxation, stress related illness and pain can develop and become chronic.

People are referred to biofeedback training to first become aware of their body's usual response patterns, and then to voluntarily control this previously automatic physiological process. There are new alternatives as the clients learn how to deeply relax with the aid of biofeedback instruments, which measure their muscle tension, the temperature of their hands and feet and the sweat gland activity of the hand. The biofeedback instruments range in technological sophistication, from a simple hand-held thermometer to a very sensitive computer analyzed feedback device. With the help of a skilled therapist, the trainees learn to use that extremely accurate and detailed information for self-regulation, to reach a new and healthier physiological balance. Once these techniques are learned, the instruments are no longer necessary, and the skills become part of everyday life.