Biofeedback is used as a treatment technique in which people are trained to improve their health by using this information to gain control over the stress response. Chances are you have used biofeedback yourself. Whenever someone steps on a scale or takes their temperature, the information provided may be used to make changes and improve your health.
Clinicians use biofeedback instruments in much the same way.
The information provided by the equipment is monitored by the clinician and patient. It is then used to assist the patient in learning how to control first the feedback from the instrument and eventually, the body's response to stress. One commonly used instrument picks up electrical signals emitted by muscle tissue. As muscle tension changes, so does the visual or auditory signal. The equipment used in this and other forms of biofeedback can detect a person's internal bodily functions with far greater sensitivity and precision that a person can alone.