How does biofeedback work to ease fibromyalgia?
To individualize the reduction of stress in the treatment of fibromyalgia, biofeedback is often recommended. This mind/body relaxation technique uses electronics to measure stress-related responses in the body. The idea behind biofeedback is that people can use information about their body’s internal processes to learn to control those processes. A consensus statement from the National Institutes of Health indicates there is good evidence that biofeedback might help relieve many types of chronic pain. For example, it might be useful in treating tension and migraine headaches. In one study at the University of South Alabama, 80% of children with migraines were symptom-free after receiving intensive biofeedback training. In other research, some headache patients who were able to increase hand temperature using thermal biofeedback also experienced fewer and less intense migraine headaches.