When it comes to managing stress and treating chronic pain, medication and adopting healthier lifestyle choices were considered to be primary alternatives for those who are busy juggling their personal lives with work commitments. There is also a new discovery in this area that can target multiple critical health issues in one way, known as “biofeedback therapy,” that can train an individual’s body to process information about the functioning of various sensitive organs and help them respond effectively to the stressful conditions.
A Closer Look at Biofeedback Therapy
Biofeedback is a mind-body technique that uses electronic sensors to record and provide data about various physiological processes that are involuntarily controlled, such as heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and muscle tension.
It basically focuses on bodily signals translated into physical activity drawn from the field of psychology and physiology for promoting self-control among individuals.
The Working Principle of Biofeedback
❖ Such advanced techniques apply the concept of operant conditioning to make a particular desired response occur repeatedly by making an automatic connection between the response and the consequences it follows.
❖ A normal session begins with a professional therapist placing sensors on the patient's body and connecting them with a computer screen that shows information through graphical images, sound waves, and visuals.
❖ For example: When an individual muscle tenses up and sound waves or light flashes in response to stress, the therapist teaches the patient to identify these signals and loosen up the muscles through practicing deep breathing and guided imagery to stabilize bodily functions over time. Through the period of repeated sessions, body and brain activity automatically mimic the whole process without requiring a machine. 
Categories of Biofeedback
❖ Electromyography (EMG) assesses muscle activity that helps to reduce pain.
❖ Heart Rate Variability (HRV) tracks heart rhythm to encourage stress reduction.
❖ Thermal biofeedback that records skin temperature for promoting relaxation
❖ Neurofeedback that observes brain activity for increasing concentration levels, reducing mood swings, and improving sleep quality.
Positive Effects of Biofeedback
❖ It helps to reduce chronic pain, as such a condition intensifies through the fight-or-flight response that is the function of the autonomic nervous system, with the help of the biofeedback mechanism, which improves the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system that enhances the rest-digest state that can be crucial for loweringthe cortisol levels, a stress hormone.
❖ Sleep quality can also be improved and reduces the symptoms of insomnia and related disorders by calming down repetitive thoughts and lowering the heart rate, which makes the body feel more relaxed.
❖ Biofeedback can help to manage performance anxiety while preparing for competitive situations and overcome negative thoughts when working under extreme mental load.
❖ It can also be taken as an additional form of treatment with traditional medication for more effective outcomes.
❖ Such techniques also prove beneficial for many other medical and psychiatric issues such as migraines, fibromyalgia, lower back pain, headaches, PTSD symptoms, ADHD, digestive issues, and anxiety.
Another effective way for treating lower back pain: Physiotherapy: Practical rehab and exercise
Conclusion
Biofeedback therapy brings out positive results for many common medical and mental issues by motivating patients and building confidence in them through showing data related to their bodily functions and gaining conscious control over them by practicing mindfulness and guided imagery. Such a technique can be used with the help of available applications.